TonyQ Big Year 2018 (The Third)

[Kitsafari]

lovely additions! I am a tad envious that the UK has so many sites to do birding. 

 

[TonyQ]

@Galana thank you. We were only there for two nights so were pleased with what we saw

@PeterHG thank you

@Kitsafari thank you. We do have a range of environments in a fairly small space, and quite a lot of bird reserves. (Not so many tropical rainforests)

Edited August 3, 2018 by TonyQ

[TonyQ]

A duplicate

Some of you may remember this photo

(234) Tawny Owl      Strix aluco       Our Garden, Birmingham        20.03.2018

You may be wondering, why, with such a fine photograph, do I feel the need to post a duplicate?

 

Towards the end of May we were out looking for birds near Birmingham, and saw a grey ball of fluff in a tree. As we managed to get to a position where we could see it more clearly, we saw

Tawny Owl chick

We watched it for a while - it sat very still. After a few minutes we thought we should leave it, but as we walked away we glanced up higher in the tree through a small gap in the branches, and saw

Adult Tawny Owl

and then a little to the left

A slightly younger chick, looking down at us. Really cute!

We were delighted!

Edited August 3, 2018 by TonyQ

[Peter Connan]

Lovely sighting!

[lmSA84]

Brilliant find! Was the find anywhere near your home - so potentially the same bird? 

[Dave Williams]

Always lovely to see Owls, especially nocturnal ones in daylight!

[TonyQ]

@Peter Connan @Dave Williams Thank you - it was a treat

@lmSA84 it was a few miles away so probably not the same bird

[Galana]

Brilliant. I love Owls. Large and small. Your pictures are a real treat for us all.

Chicks apart that photo of the watchful Adult is something special.

[Kitsafari]

so delightful! they had two chicks?! yes i'm a sucker for those eyes and fluffy balls of owl. and the adult is a smart looking bird as well. 

[Zim Girl]

Wonderful Tawny Owl sighting - very jealous!!

[TonyQ]

@Galana @Kitsafari @Zim Girl Thank you - we were delighted!

 

As it is a bit quiet I am posting a few duplicates (to keep me busy!) All taken at Upton Warren, Worcestershire

Blue Tit with food for a very lucky chick

Goldcrest

Little Grebe with chick

With fish and now two interested chicks

The fish didn't last long (it was interesting watching the adult adjust the fish so the chick got it head first)

It is the first time we have seen Little Grebe chicks in the UK. (we had a glimpse in Majorca). They are just as cute as their Great Crested cousins!

 

[offshorebirder]

Cuteness overload in that last post @TonyQ!

 

You and @Thursday's Child were fortunate indeed to witness the Grebe-feeding session.

 

[Galana]

@TonyQ

Thanks for breaking the Dog days we all seem to be experiencing lately.

And doing it with some excellent pictures. Impossible to pick a winner from those.

[michael-ibk]

Great additions, Tony, love the Puffins, Gannets and Owl especially. And the Grasshopper Warbler is special indeed, I have only heard them but was never able to locate them. Bravo!

[TonyQ]

@offshorebirder @Galana Thank you

@michael-ibk Thank you, and welcome back from Costa Rica. I hope you all had a great time, and we are looking forward to lots of birds (and hopefully a Trip Report!)

 

Another duplicate

284.UK.118. Cuckoo  Cuculus canorus   

This one is a juvenile, seen at Coney Meadow, Worcestershire

 

 

The next one is a poor, rushed, but I think interesting photo

The host "parent" flew in very quickly with food and then flew off again. A rushed shot but it does show the size difference between the Reed Warbler adult and the juvenile Cuckoo that it is raising as its own chick.

[Galana]

That is a great sequence of shots. The first is a good portrait and remarkable as to how thin the supporting twig is.

[xelas]

Poor warbler parents must have been in a rush, plenty of food to supply! I am surprised why they do not realise those are not their own chicks ... 

[PeterHG]

Beautiful series of the Cuckoo. Our son has outgrown both his parents and I’m beginning to wonder now.....

[Dave Williams]

Some excellent recent captures Tony!

 

[Galana]

1 hour ago, PeterHG said:

Our son has outgrown both his parents and I’m beginning to wonder now.....

Really start to worry when he flies to Africa!

[TonyQ]

@Galana

@PeterHG

@Dave Williams

Thank you

@xelas

It is surprising when you see the two birds together!

[TonyQ]

312.UK.147. Whinchat  Saxicola rubetra

Grimley, Worcestershire         27.07.2018

Grimley, Worcestershire         27.07.2018

Both very heavy crops, but you have to take what you can get at this time of year!

[TonyQ]

A duplicate from the same site and day

Yellow Wagtail

 

[xelas]

These summer months are really tough for birders ... birding in Europe !

[TonyQ]

@xelas I suspect you may have got a few in Costa Rica!

Welcome back...