birds

A Nature Weekend and Bird Watching Challenges

Scott Andrew BaileyLeave a comment

This weekend we decided to relax a bit and get out and about in the country. This was partly down to my musings about bird watching. My wife wanted to do some walking, as did I, rather than cycling this time around. The two things – bird watching and walking – immediately made me think of the marshes near us. Haven’t been there for years and what a surprise! It’s always been a lovely place to walk, now it has been taken over by a wildlife trust and they have made some great improvements – including installing some bird watchers hides.

After that, we went to a local woodland park that used to be a gunpowder mill. I have never been there – tough Rachel and the kids have. Again I was pleasantly surprised.

Anyway here are a few pictures of the day – and I am hoping there some ornithologists or keen birders out there who might help identify some of these.

Trying to capture swallows! Rare to see them these days and so low as well.
An oystercatcher? Or a lapwing? anyone know?
Again – what are these big black birds? There are some other angles later on. I think they may shags? Or are they just geese? I need a better telephoto lense.
I know this one! A heron in the reeds 🙂

A Bird Resurgence

Scott Andrew BaileyLeave a comment

As you might have seen from my last post I have been watching birds! Not exactly bird watching in any real sense but as we have been driving around, walking and cycling all about our little village I have been noticing the birds more and more.

Now I don’t know if it’s just me but there seems to be a bit of a resurgence in the number of species.

I used to bird watch when I was a kid – I had the eye spy books on both British birds and their eggs! I have forgotten most of it, never really paid it much attention after hitting puberty!

But when my oldest son was starting to show an interest in wildlife I thought it would be a good way to fan those flames, and it rekindled an old love for me.

This was a few years ago and when we tried it seemed we saw very little variety, just sparrows, thrushes and blackbirds. That didn’t really interest a five-year-old much and it got dropped a bit.

However this year I have noticed a change. We have seen all kinds of the kind that I used to get excited about – especially the more colourful ones. We have seen pied wagtails, chaffinches, goldfinches, blue tits and even a few woodpeckers. Today, while out cycling, at the top of the hill we saw a large bird of prey soaring and being mobbed by crows or ravens. I couldn’t tell you what it was – I would hazard it was a buzzard – but was big!

I wonder if there are any ornithological experts out there who could tell me whether this is really a trend or is just I am opening my eyes properly for the first time in a long time?

All pictures are from pixabay.