I took the plunge today and drove the 100 miles to the Willow Tree Fen in Lincolnshire in the hope that the sun would shine and the bird would show. On arrival I parked in the small car park having set the sat nav to postcode PE11 3JH . At 7am I was sitting on […]
Tag: Bluethroat
First returning Bluethroats – Jubail
The Red-spotted Bluethroat is an uncommon wintering species in Saudi Arabia with birds wintering at Sabkhat Al Fasl each year, where it is locally common. The first birds return to Sabkhat Al Fasl around the same time and appear to be females with ringing data suggesting they first return in mid-October. A week or so […]
Alaska – 8th June (Day 12)
Today was a key day in the Nome section of the trip with one of the star birds to see. We were up early and headed up the Kougarok Road to Mile Post 72 we arrived at around 06:00. This site is known as the Coffee Dome, the summit of this relatively small hill is […]
A richer life
One of the things that makes birding a truly special pastime/passion/hobby/lifestyle is the fact that it enriches everyday life. A walk in the woods or even in a city become so much richer when you are aware of the birds around you and know something about the life stories. A walk yesterday through forest and […]
Encounter with a Red Fox cub
I went out to a local nature reserve north of Karlsruhe, Germany very early one day last week primarily to look for breeding Bluethroats, but came across this lovely young Red Fox cub. His muddy paws were a result of exploring the reed-beds on the fringes of one of the many pools on the reserve. […]
Portland Bluethroat and Sub Warbler
We had quite a drive this morning for a day on Portland birding for spring migrants. Having set off early we we in the obs garden at 7.30am but there was no news of yesterdays Bluethroat or Western Subalpine Warbler. I headed off up the hill into the fields in search of anything that might […]
Two vagrants still at Khawr Rori
I visited Khawr Rori on Tuesday afternoon for the first time in two weeks. There are two distinct birding areas and I went to both. One is the north west off-shoot of the main Khawr and which contains a large reed bed. It is approached from the main road. On arrival there I immediately came […]
A retrapped and returning Red-spotted Bluethroat – Sabkhat Al Fasl
Whilst ringing at Sabkhat Al Fasl on 8 January I trapped a male Red-spotted Bluethroat that we had previously trapped in January 2014. This bird had presumably been back to its breeding grounds in the far north and then returned to spend its winter in exactly the same small area of Sabkhat Al Fasl as […]