Tdgraves less big year 2018

[PeterHG]

1 hour ago, Tdgraves said:

 

I'll take your word for it @PeterHG - so much for relying on the sightings board....

It’s just that they look too dark for  Yellow-legged, but who am I to doubt a sightings board .....?

[Tdgraves]

@PeterHG having never (knowingly) seen a lesser black-backed, I googled both and I agree that their back looks more black than grey, so am happy to go with your ID

 

Wait until I get to the Californian gulls....

[Dave Williams]

Some interesting EBC's for sure. Cuckoo has to win the award for this year to date.

It's strange you have never seen a LBB Gull when we see so many locally, as we do herring Gulls. Yellow-legged are a rarity.

On the other hand Hobby are a rarity and quite common down your way. I travelled especially to North Britton ( I think that's the spelling) RSPB reserve last year as when I visited previously it was the best place ever for Hobby photography. 10 years later and I couldn't find the boardwalk or the reed bed!

[Tdgraves]

@Dave Williams the hobbies seem to be common at this time of year at fen drayton. There were 5 or 6 flying around together when I was there. I probably haven't looked closely enough at gulls before....

[elefromoz]

@Tdgraves, well I like the little Fieldfare, we don't see many photos of Birds in the snow, maybe there isn't many, maybe its too cold to go out.....I obviously started replying to you waaayyy back in March but got side-tracked and the comment is still here. Meanwhile, congrats on 100/200 and I guess you are enjoying hot,  balmy days by now in your part of the world and snow is but a distant memory. Certainly it looked like that for the "wedding". I enjoyed seeing the European Bee-eater and Booted Eagle in Kruger after seeing both previously in Spain.

[Tdgraves]

Thanks @elefromoz spring has been a strange affair so far, periods of blue skies with sunshine and very high temperatures and then cold dark spells....

[Tdgraves]

time to go back to chronologcial order. I went to RSPB Ouse washes, thinking it was still early spring, but the birds had a better idea of the calendar and most had already left. I still got quite a haul for the BY though....

 

RSPB Ouse Washes, Cambridgeshire, UK, 19/4/18

 

Canon 7D mark ii, 100-400 mark ii, ISO 250, f 7.1,  1/1000

 

 

hiding in the bushes

 

Canon 7D mark ii, 100-400 mark ii, ISO 400, f 7.1,  1/800, EV +1/3

 

 

224) Common pheasant

[Tdgraves]

RSPB Ouse Washes, Cambridgeshire, UK, 19/4/18

 

Canon 7D mark ii, 100-400 mark ii, ISO 400, f 7.1,  1/800, EV +1/3

 

 

Canon 7D mark ii, 100-400 mark ii, ISO 400, f 7.1,  1/1250         

 

 

225) Tree sparrow

[Tdgraves]

RSPB Ouse Washes, Cambridgeshire, UK, 19/4/18

 

Canon 7D mark ii, 100-400 mark ii, ISO 250, f 6.3,  1/1250, EV +1/3

 

 

Canon 7D mark ii, 100-400 mark ii, ISO 400, f 7.1,  1/1250         

 

 

226) Reed bunting

[Tdgraves]

RSPB Ouse Washes, Cambridgeshire, UK, 19/4/18

 

Canon 7D mark ii, 100-400 mark ii, ISO 250, f 7.1,  1/1600, EV +1/3

 

 

227) Grey heron

[Tdgraves]

RSPB Ouse Washes, Cambridgeshire, UK, 19/4/18

 

Canon 7D mark ii, 100-400 mark ii, ISO 400, f 7.1,  1/2500, EV +1/3

 

 

228) Common redshank

[Tdgraves]

RSPB Ouse Washes, Cambridgeshire, UK, 19/4/18

 

Canon 7D mark ii, 100-400 mark ii, ISO 250, f 7.1,  1/2500, EV +1/3

 

 

Canon 7D mark ii, 100-400 mark ii, ISO 250, f 7.1,  1/2000, EV +1/3

 

 

229) Black-headed gull

[Tdgraves]

RSPB Ouse Washes, Cambridgeshire, UK, 19/4/18

 

Canon 7D mark ii, 100-400 mark ii, ISO 320, f 7.1,  1/1250, EV +2/3

 

 

230) Mute swan

[Tdgraves]

RSPB Ouse Washes, Cambridgeshire, UK, 19/4/18

 

Canon 7D mark ii, 100-400 mark ii, ISO 320, f 7.1,  1/400, EV +1 1/3

 

 

Canon 7D mark ii, 100-400 mark ii, ISO 200, f 7.1,  1/400, EV +1 1/3

 

 

231) Egyptian goose

[Tdgraves]

And probably a new one for me

 

RSPB Ouse Washes, Cambridgeshire, UK, 19/4/18

 

Canon 7D mark ii, 100-400 mark ii, ISO 400, f 7.1,  1/1000, EV +1 1/3

 

 

232) Northern shoveler

[Tdgraves]

RSPB Ouse Washes, Cambridgeshire, UK, 19/4/18

 

Canon 7D mark ii, 100-400 mark ii, ISO 400, f 7.1,  1/800, EV +1 1/3

 

 

 

233) Tufted duck

[Tdgraves]

RSPB Ouse Washes, Cambridgeshire, UK, 19/4/18

 

Canon 7D mark ii, 100-400 mark ii, ISO 400, f 7.1,  1/800, EV +1 1/3

 

 

234) Eurasian wigeon

[Tdgraves]

RSPB Ouse Washes, Cambridgeshire, UK, 19/4/18

Canon 7D mark ii, 100-400 mark ii, ISO 320, f 7.1,  1/2000

 

Canon 7D mark ii, 100-400 mark ii, ISO 320, f 7.1,  1/1000

 

 

 

235) Woodpigeon

[Tdgraves]

So not as many water birds as I expected, but a glorious day and quite a few in the bag. I guess I'll have to go back in winter, brrr...

 

I have a couple of EBCs in the bag, but hopefully will not have to use them (until 31/12/18 )

 

Nice to see these guys back from Africa....

 

 

These have now become duplicates

 

 

 

Next up, California, but I need to process them all, so there will be a delay.....

[TonyQ]

That was a very productive trip with lots of new additions. We are still getting used to the terms "spring " and "autumn " in the birding world. They don't seem to correspond to normal language! Having said that, we had a month's rain in an hour yesterday, and Springwatch starts on TV today- so what is normal?

[michael-ibk]

A good outing, always cool to see Shovellers. I think you have House (not Tree) Sparrows there?

[Tdgraves]

7 hours ago, michael-ibk said:

A good outing, always cool to see Shovellers. I think you have House (not Tree) Sparrows there?

 

@michael-ibk Not what the RSPB says....they have a big sign up at the visitor centre where the feeders are to attract the birds, stating that they are tree sparrows (both types being increasingly uncommon in the uk), but i’ll see if I have any other shots. I agree that the bottom bird has a grey crown, so definitely is a house sparrow, However the top one seems to have a faint cheek patch to me.

[Dave Williams]

I have to say, I agree with @michael-ibk on this one. Tree Sparrows do have a very distinct black patch in the middle of what is usually a very white patch on their cheek. As the notice board states though , you are likely to get both on their feeders so if you are lucky enough to have them locally I'm sure you'll get another chance.

Overall they are becoming quite rare in the UK, I used to have a reliable spot in Shropshire but they just vanished a few years ago and never to come back. Why I don't know. They are very common in the Far East though, more so than house Sparrows in some places it seems. I'm kicking myself I didn't try harder in Estonia recently. They were around the hotel grounds in the place I stopped the first night and I made the often made mistake of thinking I would get plenty of opportunities but the reality was i never saw any more. There is a moral in that story too.

[Tdgraves]

Just found a different shot of the upper bird and he also has a grey head, so minus 1 from the score. Maybe next time????

[Dave Williams]

If at first ........!!! Good luck.