The piercing “crex crex” call of the male corncrake once kept country people awake at night. But its last breeding strongholds are falling silent as this elusive migratory bird teeters on the brink of extinction in Britain. Despite a successful rescue effort that led to its numbers rallying on the islands of north-west Scotland, rising […]
Tag: Willow Warbler
Turtle dove flies towards extinction as numbers halve in UK
The turtle dove, Britain’s most endangered bird, continues to plummet towards extinction, its numbers having halved over five years, according to the latest data. The turtle dove’s 51% decline from 2013 to 2017 is the most drastic of a continuing slump for a quarter of farmland bird species. However, there are signs of recovery for […]
The Dale continues to deliver
This week has not only been about reminiscing about the weekend and I have been out in the Dale although with lots of rain my visits have been short. There has still been lots to see though. The Three-toed Woodpeckers seem to have failed with their breeding as a 70 minute vigil at the nest […]
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. […]
Stonechats at Longridge Fell
On my recent travels around Longridge Fell I have come across some stonechats. These beautiful little birds can often be seen perching in prominent positions and announcing their presence with their distinctive calls. They are a lovely little bird to photograph and I was lucky to be able to capture some nice images of the […]
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 […]
Back in Action
It has been four months since I last published a blog. I have been out of action following further hip surgery. I am now bionic having had two new hips since July 2018!! I am making a good recovery and am now able to drive again. This has meant that at long last I have […]
Black-throated Diver and Dodgy Duck
Yet another day that didn’t feel birdy but still had enough going on to keep it interesting. My first House Martin of the year was my only year tick but I did have my first Osprey for Maridalen, Willow Warblers, Three-toed pecker and an interesting female Tufted (type) Duck that may be a hybrid. The […]