Once was the time when a goodie was found on a remote western Irish headland and all it took was a cheap last minute Ryanair flight from Stansted to Cork, Kerry, Shannon or Knock and £30 a day car hire and it was job done. Happy days indeed with fond memories of Little Blue Heron, Philadelphia Vireo, Thayer's Gull etc.
Fast forward to the present day and the HUGE mega of Eastern Kingbird. A quick check of the Ryanair website and they want £350 return to Knock this weekend and when I had a casual glance in midweek thinking of the MyrtleWarbler I couldn't get to Cork for less than £230 return at short notice.
Do they actually sell tickets at these prices?!
Anyway, for this birder at least, it seems those happy twitches to the Emerald Isle and plenty of craic are a thing of the past :-(
While I'm in a moany mood, I've been trying to arrange some guided birding for a few days in Northern Thailand next Feb and the prices are unbelievable - £280 per day for 2 of us?! Or £640 for 3 days for 2 of us?! In a country which is generally very reasonable I find it amazing. It'll be far more satisfying finding my own birds!
Minsmere Woods, Suffolk, 29 September 2012
A walk through the woods inland of Minsmere is something I've never done before so combining a bit of exploring with some geocaching I did so on Saturday. Nothing to write home about bird wise but loads of butterflies and dragonflies still out despite the time of year, Southern Hawker, Migrant Hawker, Ruddy Darter, Common Darter, Comma, Red Admiral, Large White, Small White, Speckled Wood, Small Tortoiseshell, Small Copper, and Common Blue all still on the wing.
Southern Hawker, taken with my iPhone
Birds of Kuwait - book review
I was lucky enough to be sent a complimentary copy of the new photographic guide to the Birds of Kuwait by my friends in Kuwait this week so thought it worthy of a mention in these pages!
Firstly, this is no field guide because it is a big heavy tome which will be much more at home on the coffee table than in the field. The first thing that will strike the reader is the stunning array of photographs that have been collected from willing contributors. They are amazing. The majority have been provided by resident birders in Kuwait such as Mike Pope (co-editor of the book), Pekka Fagel and Abdulrahman Al-Sirhan and depict every species to have occured in the state up to June 2012. Sections on the birding sites, photographing birds and conservation are also included but it is the species accounts and photographs that make up 90% of this visually stunning book.
I'd urge anyone with an interest on the birds of Kuwait to grab a copy while they can. It's print run has probably been quite small so I suspect it won't be available for long.
Firstly, this is no field guide because it is a big heavy tome which will be much more at home on the coffee table than in the field. The first thing that will strike the reader is the stunning array of photographs that have been collected from willing contributors. They are amazing. The majority have been provided by resident birders in Kuwait such as Mike Pope (co-editor of the book), Pekka Fagel and Abdulrahman Al-Sirhan and depict every species to have occured in the state up to June 2012. Sections on the birding sites, photographing birds and conservation are also included but it is the species accounts and photographs that make up 90% of this visually stunning book.
I'd urge anyone with an interest on the birds of Kuwait to grab a copy while they can. It's print run has probably been quite small so I suspect it won't be available for long.
Friday the 13th!
While out on a geocaching meander near Debenham/Stonham Aspall in Suffolk I almost put my hand on this monster of a Common Toad thinking it was a geocache! It was only it's throat moving that gave it away! Close by I also had my 1st Garden Warbler of the year which just goes to show how slack I've been recently!
Good news from Pulham as our Spotted Flycatchers are still present having been very elusive for the last 3 or 4 weeks. Hopefully it's because they were on eggs! Family parties of Great, Blue and Long-tailed Tits and Chiffchaffs are much in evidence in the garden too where Red Admirals seem to be everywhere.
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Good news from Pulham as our Spotted Flycatchers are still present having been very elusive for the last 3 or 4 weeks. Hopefully it's because they were on eggs! Family parties of Great, Blue and Long-tailed Tits and Chiffchaffs are much in evidence in the garden too where Red Admirals seem to be everywhere.
Near Metfield, Suffolk, 24 June 2012
With a little time to spare before the football (wish I'd not dashed back for it in the end!) I ventured into north Suffolk and the village of Metfield near Harleston. On a first look I thought the usual Frog Orchids weren't there but closer inspection revealed at least 17 plants. It's amazing how easy it is to forget how small they are in the course of a year! A couple of early Pyramidal Orchids had popped up and it was also pleasing to note a trio of clover sp - the scarce Sulphur Clover, Red Clover and White Clover.
Frog Orchid
Pyramidal Orchid
Sulphur Clover
Red Clover
White Clover
Somewhere near Loddon, Norfolk, 18 June 2012
A quick check of a known site for the 'chlorantha' form of Bee Orchid near Loddon revealed c9 plants. There could have been more because I didn't comb the area thoroughly but numbers are up on last year which was very poor. Interestingly I also found 1 standard Bee Orchid plant although it was a few meters away from the main concentration of chloranthas.
Norwich Cathedral, 9 June 2012
Very pleasing to note our local Peregrines are doing so well. 2 fully grown young are due to fledge any minute and were doing lots of wing-stretching yesterday as one of the adults looked on from a perch above the platform. Sadly the 3rd chick which was the runt and had a deformed bill died last night.
See the live nest cam here http://www.eveningnews24.co.uk/home/falcon-cam
See the live nest cam here http://www.eveningnews24.co.uk/home/falcon-cam
Sutton and Upper Hollesley Commons, Suffolk, 25 May 2012
Well, it being my birthday today Belinda indulged me in some birding down in deepest Suffolk in the sun today. Our first stop was Sutton Common near Woodbridge and despite us not making the earliest of starts the Wood Warbler was very quickly located as I could hear it's shivering trill a mile off! It went on to show superbly well. Also on a wander around the area we had flyover Crossbills, Woodlark and Little Owl amongst the more common Yellowhammers, Common Whitethroats and Mistle Thrushes.
After a tip off from a local birder we drove on to Upper Hollesley Common to a drinking puddle and with a bit of patience (even from Belinda!) several Crossbills came in to drink having been calling above our heads for ages! Another couple of Woodlarks over the road completed a very satisfying morning before we headed into Woodbridge for coffee and cakes!
Back at Pulham I finally managed to nail one of our Spotted Flycatchers to a decent photo after much trying!
After a tip off from a local birder we drove on to Upper Hollesley Common to a drinking puddle and with a bit of patience (even from Belinda!) several Crossbills came in to drink having been calling above our heads for ages! Another couple of Woodlarks over the road completed a very satisfying morning before we headed into Woodbridge for coffee and cakes!
Back at Pulham I finally managed to nail one of our Spotted Flycatchers to a decent photo after much trying!
Camera shy Spotted Flycatchers, 20 May 2012
For 8 days now we've had a pair of Spotted Flycatchers in the garden and I've high hopes of breeding. An event in itself these days! Both birds have been remarkably shy and elusive so getting any sort of photograph has been difficult. In an hour of trying this afternoon these are the best I managed. Crucially, the 2nd photos shows one of the birds collecting nesting material.
Peak District - again! 4 - 7 May 2012
We just can't keep away! The chance of a cheap holiday cottage for the bank holiday weekend had Belinda and I packing our walking boots and heading for the Peak District again.
Compared to 2 weeks ago Wheatears have now arrived in good numbers and a Redstart close to the viaduct in Monsal Dale was very nice. Best bird of the weekend was undoubtedly a Short-eared Owl hunting the moors close to Three Shire Heads and shortly afterwards there was a very out of place Red Kite being mobbed by a Common Buzzard! After looking at every river we walked past I eventually found a pair of Dippers on the River Wye near Ashford-in-the-Water. Other than that the first Swifts of the year on a ridiculously late date of 7 May plus the usual Grey Wagtails, numerous Willow Warblers and Curlew, Lesser Redpoll, Lesser Whitethroat, Ravens and Red Grouse.
Compared to 2 weeks ago Wheatears have now arrived in good numbers and a Redstart close to the viaduct in Monsal Dale was very nice. Best bird of the weekend was undoubtedly a Short-eared Owl hunting the moors close to Three Shire Heads and shortly afterwards there was a very out of place Red Kite being mobbed by a Common Buzzard! After looking at every river we walked past I eventually found a pair of Dippers on the River Wye near Ashford-in-the-Water. Other than that the first Swifts of the year on a ridiculously late date of 7 May plus the usual Grey Wagtails, numerous Willow Warblers and Curlew, Lesser Redpoll, Lesser Whitethroat, Ravens and Red Grouse.
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