During the last weekend of January, participants in Britain’s Big Garden Birdwatch are asked to keep track of the number of each avian species they see at their location over a one-hour period. The counting and recording is usually done in gardens, but parks and other green spaces work too. Participants in this year’s Birdwatch […]
Tag: Blue Tit

Songbirds being killed by pesticides found in pet fur flea treatments
Songbird chicks are being killed by high levels of pesticides in the pet fur used by their parents to line their nests, a study has found. Researchers surveying nests for the harmful chemical found in pet flea treatments found that it was present in every single nest. The scientists from the University of Sussex are […]

Guiding in the Dale
Yesterday I was guiding Andy from Florida. We spent the whole day in Maridalen and despite a very fresh northerly wind the Dale did not disappoint and we had a very fun and production session. I was back in the Dale this morning (where else would I be) to follow up on the Ortolan Buntings. […]

Winter Birds
We really don’t have too much snow down here on the Devon/Cornwall border, so a covering of the white stuff was a bit of a novelty on two separate weeks in March. I could have panicked and ran around with my long lens and end up photographing nothing at all or just stay in the […]

And He’s Off
The Fieldfare popped in this morning for one more breakfast before taking to the skies allowing the resident Blackbirds and Song Thrush back in the garden to feed. The wintering male Blackcap was joined briefly by another male and female but like the Fieldfare he defended his garden well and they quickly left without as […]

Pennington Marsh – 5th and 9th March
I visited Pennington Marsh on 5th and 9th March and on both days saw much the same. Its a pretty static time of year with winter birds steadily but barely noticeably declining and very few migrants appearing. The Lapwing are now in regular display and are busy making nesting scrapes on the marsh while Black-tailed […]

Red flanked Bluetail at Titchwell
A planned trip to Norfolk today had added spice with news of Titchwell’s first ever Red-flanked Bluetail staying put for a second and hopefully third day. We stopped at first light in the hope of seeing the Golden Pheasant at Wolferton but had to settle for it on call alone before we moved on to […]

The Beauty of Blue Tits
Parus caeruleus – No need for words here, just enjoy these cute guys! 🙂 La beautĂ© des MĂ©sanges bleues… Les mâles ont des couleurs nettement marquĂ©es par rapport aux femelles, nĂ©anmoins ce n’est pas toujours Ă©vident de discerner les 2 sexes: Males like this on below have brighter colors than females, nevertheless, it is not […]