The Bird Thread

Wagtails enjoying our makeshift birdbath

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• VID-20201008-WA0004.mp4

I was half watching an episode of QI the other night. There was talk of equine blood groups, seven apparently. Then they mentioned birds, just the one type. So you could transfuse blood from a Robin to an Ostrich, many hundreds of Robins apparently.

Ok,

This might not be the same bird, but it is the same place.

Third time lucky it does appear to be our Kes.

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New garden visitor

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This is what a part of 140,000 Knot looks like. (Snettisham last Sunday)
Watching them fly in and back out again was a three hour spectacle.

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• IMG_2565.MOV

Can't see any video, just the sound of someone taking photos at fairly high FPS.

Edit: I'll try on my phone.

Amazing, can see it on my phone. Majestic!

Really love that part of the world - must get up to the Norfolk coast this Winter - need some snow buntings to cheer me up.

I was there for 2 days, and saw some amazing birds. A Red Flanked bluetail popped up in some brambles, bitterns, short eared owls, whooper swans, thousands of pink footed geese, bearded tits, spoonbills, marsh harriers. It’s an annual pilgrimage for me. I might sneak in another trip in midwinter.

Wow.

They don't hang around!

Red Flanked bluetail

There's been quite a few of them around in the last week. Yet to make it up to see one sadly but heading that way tomorrow so fingers crossed!

I was really chuffed to find it. All the twitchers had gone to Holme, I went out onto Burnham Overy dunes. Lots of birds coming in to the brambles off the sea, and up it popped! ( I also spotted a shrike of some sort, but it disappeared and was never seen there again. ) I told several other birders who found the bluetail but nobody reported the shrike sadly.

Those guys have smooth traffic management sorted. Humans should learn from them.

Yeah, finding it yourself is pretty good! The biggest falls seem to have been in Holme and Stiffkey but I'm sure they are all along the coast... except Walcott where I went today :(
We did see a low flying buzzard on the drive there and lots of turnstones on the beach but that was about it.

We had one of those last week too, I’m hoping he’ll be back now that he knows there are peanuts.

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Ha he looks well dodgy!

Slightly unexciting but new to us, a Grey Wagtail in the garden. See lots by the river nearby but they don't seem to travel far.

Learned that a local woodland to us is an important habitat for Willow Tits. Apparently they're very picky about nesting in standing dead wood of a particular age and wetness, and we happen to have quite a bit nearby. Will be heading over at some point to try see some.

The flooded fields around here (Aylesbury Vale) are attracting huge numbers of ducks and geese. Flocks of hundreds of teal were my favourite the other morning.

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It actually teal too! Funny that. :o)

guys have smooth traffic management sorted

suck at social distancing tho

Also a stonechat having a chat with a wren

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And a goosanda

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suck at social distancing tho

I guess it depends on whether they have a flockdown or not.

Pretty impressed with this.

https://www.boredpanda.com/magpies-recycling-machine-bottle-caps/?fbclid=IwAR2TpXk-xRzThYJu4po5Jx5a5m1AdU2KcbnheJAexhZSybCyqShVuBldxDs&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=organic