Common Terns (Sacha Barbato) Not long now before the skies become busy with commuting birds and the bushes swell with refueling migrants. I’ve had two pretty poor overcast mornings over the past couple of days. Will it be a case of – ‘but on the third day…….?
Some more images from my recent trip to Extremadura. All images copyright of Edo van Uchelen.
Won’t be winning a photographic competitions with this one! This morning I hit The Scrubs early, pre dawn with a novice birder en tow. I was asked by a friend to take this fella out to introduce him to the world of birding. To be honest, I didn’t fancy it. It was too early in […]
My inagural digiscoping efforts of a glorious male Northern Wheatear at The Scrubs yesterday using an ill-constructed kit. I will try to improve!
TUB on a beach in Donegal c1993 (Rene Pop) Last night I delivered the key note speech at the RSPB Northern Island and Birdwatch Ireland jointly organised annual conference. It was held at a golf hotel on the outskirts of Belfast. I spoke about urban birding to the assembled masses and including some chatter about […]
Great Tit (Russell F Spencer) My grand fighting talk/pep talk to myself worked, because yesterday I strolled onto The Scrubs and immediately flushed a migratory Woodcock from the playing fields. It was our first ever March bird. A little later a second winter Mediterranean Gull flew over with a bunch of Black-headed Gulls. Now, we […]
Wren with nesting material (Russell F Spencer) Blink and you will miss it. Spring that is. I always find the transition from winter birding to spring migrant watching difficult. Laziness is the name of the game during the dark months of winter. I get up late and infrequently drag myself down to The Scrubs. Then […]
Northern Wheatear (Stephen Daly) This morning was one of those classic misty occasions when you peer out through the venetians at stupid o’clock and think to yourself, ‘there’s a Wheatear on my patch’. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it out as I was still tweaking my book and needed the extra hours this morning. Luckily, one […]
Red Kite (Jon Osborne) I have become a recluse. There is no other way of describing it. I haven’t even been birding since returning from Extremadura. The main reason is that despite finishing my book the most arduous part has just started. The tweaking. And boy, the tweaking is driving me mad. This afternoon, I […]
Dirty City Blues (Alastair Riley) Life in the city has been cold and grey until today when the sun peeped out momentarily and it was just cold. It’s funny how different you feel when a couple rays bounce of your skin. Recently, I recorded my first non Wood Pigeon on the feeders in my back […]
TUB seeking sandgrouse (Godfried Schreur) Iberian Ibex country at Guijo de Santa Barbara River Tietar, Monfrague National Park An old boy Someone’s abode in Garganta la Olla The grounds of Hotel Talayuela – Hoopoe, Rock Bunting & Woodlark
Marbled Gecko Profile shot of the little fella Imagine the scene; it’s 3am and you’re tired, had three Cava’s too many and you’re being dragged out onto a dancefloor frequented by seems a load of underaged girls along with a selection of older mums and dads. What’s worse, there is a lot of bad dancing […]
Black Kite (Neil Kumar) A special day was had today, as it was the day of a new lifer for me – an Eagle Owl. It was a handsome bird sitting on its nest in a crevice in Montfrague, Extremadura. Most of its head, part of its back and one of its gloriously long ear […]
Saw my first ever Iberian Ibex today, distantly standing on a boulder on a mountainside. Also saw a singing and displaying Dartford Warbler, singing Rock Buntings, Blue Rock Thrush, Crag Martin, Swallow, House Martin and Dippers. More updates tomorrow.
White Stork I’m back in Extremadura, Spain until Sunday being looked after by the Spanish Tourist Office. Bit knackered after last night waking up on the sofa in front of the TV at 1.30am – I’m sure we’ve all done that before at some point in our lives! I then transferred to bed, but woke […]
My old notebook (Russell F Spencer) After spending what seemed like an eternity wading through memories I’ve finally finished incorporating some of them into my debut book to be published by New Holland. Hopefully it will be available in all good bookshops (and a few terrible ones) from August. I have bared my birding soul […]
Waxwing (Will Webb) I have been quietly writing a book for the past month or so desperately trying to complete it by my new extended deadline. If I can finish it by the weekend then I stand a great chance of it being published for the summer. So the race is on to get it […]
All images copyright of Russell F Spencer A few more images of the gull that Russell F Spencer saw last weekend in Hull. The camp is split between Herring, Yellow-legged and Great Black-back. What do you think?
Larid (Russell F Spencer) Herring or Yellow-legged Gull? Photo taken in Hull, Yorkshire yesterday.
Waxwings (Russell F Spencer) The day finally came. It had to come. Having not seen a Waxwing this current invasion bar a small flock of birds, possibly Waxwings, that flew across the rooftops of Archway, north London back in early January whilst I was motoring, I got tempted by twitching. Whilst driving through Kensington, I […]