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: Whitethroat
Springtime – Quraish
May in the Asir is great for birding as most if not all the African breeding species have returned and additional passage migrants can be seen as well as the resident highland birds. We saw a few passage birds including an Olive-tree Warbler, Common Whitethroat, Red-backed Shrike, Turkestan Shrike, Common Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler and Whinchat. […]
Somebody stop me next time
With East Yorkshire having a mad migrant day on Saturday I hatched a plan to attack it on Sunday. I knew it was forecast to have a clear night and the wind was against us but the draw of Brown Shrike, Collared Flycatcher, two Woodchat Shrikes, two Wryneck and several other more common spring migrants […]
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. […]
Slimbridge WWT, Hayling Island, Denny Wood and Pennington Marsh
With the last days before my next foreign trip, work and family life have been hectic. The glorious, warm sunny Easter weekend of 19th April was spent decorating at home with some time on the beach with friends and family and enjoying the garden. Birding of late has been confined to a few short jaunts […]
21 hours
Yesterday was extremely long. I left home very early, met up with Piki and together we sailed down towards the Dead Sea. Despite the dire state of the shrinking Dead Sea, Climate Change, Sixth Extinction, Donald Trump etc., I find the view of the sun rising over the Edom Mountains of Jordan, above the Dead […]
6th and 13th August – Pennington Marsh
A free Saturday morning on 6th August and I couldn’t resist the pull of Pennington Marsh but a few beers the night before meant a slightly later start so I wasn’t in the car park at Lower Pennington Lane until 08:00 by which time the dog walking hordes had descended. I wandered a short way […]
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 […]