Loch Lomond obviously but I've made the mistake of trying to edit a post with pictures before and ended up losing everything.
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A rather depressing post today: I heard my first Channel-Billed Cuckoo of the Spring this morning. Except it’s not Spring yet, and I’ve never heard these birds before mid-September in 24 seasons. They winter in North Queensland, PNG and Indonesia. Must be too hot there already. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel-billed_cuckooComment
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I've heard my first Fuck You of spring (Private Eye joke)
We take ospreys for granted in SWFL, being a peninsula. Kestrel and Snail Kite are much rarer (partly diet I think; snail kite can only eat particular snails); swallow-tailed kite is a migratory visitor in April-May and a treat as they fly very low and ride the air currents with the forked tail.Comment
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The kids found a flailing pigeon on its back in the park earlier this week. Soon all the nearby kids and adults had formed a crowd around it scaring it half to death. I managed to disperse them and ring the RSPCA. They suggested that if it was a fledgling I should put it in a box and take it to a vet but if it was an adult I shouldn't touch it in case it had bird flu. I wasn't sure. It seemed adult size but still had a couple of downy feathers. I was also confused about why bird flu might not be a risk if it was younger. We covered it with a couple of large leaves as a website suggested that being in the dark can calm them down. This seemed to revive it a bit and it showed a lot more activity. I ended up giving the location to the RSPCA and texting a local guy who is known as "the birdman" because he helps rescue birds. At that point I had to leave it because I was already late for getting back to work after my lunch hour.
I do feel a bit bad about not taking it to a vet but a) I didn't have a box, b) the nearest vet is over a mile walk away and c) I didn't have a spare two hours or more for pigeon rescue. I hope it recovered and didn't get eaten.Comment
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I got woken up by a tawny owl, which seemed to be exchanging mating calls with a crying baby in one of the other bell tents.Comment
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What does a red dot next to a bird mean on the Merlin app? It just picked up a spotted flycatcher amongst the dawn chorus and it's got a red dot next to it which I haven't seen before.Comment
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It means rare (or something like that). I presume rare in that location. The kind of orangey yellow one means unusual but not so rareComment
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What he said
I imagine it may be late in the season for that particular bird in PenzanceWhat do the red and orange dots next to some bird names mean?
These icons tell you if a species is rare (red dot) or uncommon (orange semi-circle) for the bird to be seen at the location and on the date that you selected. The same species that is common in summer might be rare in winter. Merlin knows which species are common or rare based on observations submitted to eBird, a citizen-science project that gathers observations from birders around the world.
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But of course the great thing about coastal Cornwall is there’s always a chance of stray migratory birds blown off course. I remember seeing a black redstart on Charlestown beach in midwinter. Should have been in North Africa or the Middle East.Comment
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Talking of migratory birds, I’m now hoping I was mistaken when I posted this a couple of weeks back:
I’ve not heard one since so perhaps I misheard.Originally posted by Sits View Post
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We saw a frigate bird the other day that must have been blown inland by the hurricane because they are always coastal normally. I assume it eventually found its way back to the shoreline.Comment
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Love those, thanks for linking.Comment
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I managed to (metaphorically) bag another red dot just now, a European Pied Flycatcher, after getting a Spotted Flycatcher yesterday. Is this the time of the year in which flycatchers become common?
Song thrush have begun to figure of late as well.Comment
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There was a Nuttall's woodpecker right outside my bedroom window, pecking away on the hedge branches. Sadly I was so excited that I dropped my phone when trying to snap a photo after watching it for a bit, and scared it away. It came back a little later, but was pecking a bit further down the hedge so not as readily visible.Comment
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This morning I was nearly about to shout at my daughter for waking me up with annoying video game noises when I realised that it was actually the sparrow outside my window making a repetitive peep peep electronic sounding call.Comment
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Cockatoo of the Day. Taunting the dog, who dreams of catching one but they're too canny.Comment
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Found a new bird on Merlin this morning. A seven-minute recording of the dawn chorus picked up ten different species, including my first evidence of a long-tailed tit in our garden.Comment
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There's so much less birdlife in my back garden now. I just Merlined for 20 minutes and it only picked up four different species. Would have been 10-15 in the summer.Comment
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Merlin heard a Spotted Towhee from my garden yesterday for the first time, but sadly it was out of sight in one of my neighbours' yards, as it appears to be rather striking (not my photo), much more so than the common-round-here California Towhee (a typical little brown bird).
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They make a big deal of it but it’s less than one in ten male magpies that swoop. The pair which hang around our garden are great. Lovely singers too.Originally posted by Nocturnal Submission View PostComment
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A magically disappearing one, apparently! (thanks to the board's image issues)Originally posted by S. aureus View PostMerlin heard a Spotted Towhee from my garden yesterday for the first time, but sadly it was out of sight in one of my neighbours' yards, as it appears to be rather striking (not my photo), much more so than the common-round-here California Towhee (a typical little brown bird).
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Murmuration over Fen Drayton Lakes RSPB reserve yesterday evening
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