Zim Girl's (very tiny) Big Year 2018

[Zim Girl]

Anyone looking at my 'Help with ID' thread will know that I spent some time earlier in the year trying to identify the different gulls in the hope that I had something other than a Herring.  Even when we were at St Bees I took loads of photos of gulls that I was convinced at the time were something new but at closer inspection all turned out to be Herring.

But I think I have finally found a Common one. Habitat and area is correct, yellowy legs, no red spot on beak and what I think you could call a 'kind eye', especially on the first picture.  See what you think.

 

76.  Common Gull

 

 

Loch Turret, Perthshire  -  21/06/18

 

[Zim Girl]

A bird I see a lot of but never seem to be able to get close enough for a picture, they spook really easily.

 

77.  Rook

 

Comrie, Perthshire  -  21/06/18

 

[Galana]

Common Gull sure enough.

[Zim Girl]

These were nesting in the roof of the cottage we stayed in.  

 

78.  House Martin

 

 

 

Comrie, Perthshire  -  16/06/18

 

[Zim Girl]

2 minutes ago, Galana said:

Common Gull sure enough.

 

Yayyy!!!

[TonyQ]

Lovely Kite photos- you do very well with your camera

[Peter Connan]

I agree!

[Dave Williams]

me too!

[Zim Girl]

On 7/4/2018 at 3:53 PM, TonyQ said:

Lovely Kite photos- you do very well with your camera

 

On 7/4/2018 at 4:11 PM, Peter Connan said:

I agree!

 

On 7/8/2018 at 1:55 PM, Dave Williams said:

me too!

 

Thank you all very much.

[Zim Girl]

On a sunny day last week we thought we would take another trip up to Leighton Moss to try and get a few more BY birds.  There were a few ducks being seen recently that I do not have and I have also been trying to get a good Little Egret pic for ages.

 

The chap in the visitor centre told us which hides were good for the ducks today but then he said they were all in 'Eclipse'  -  What!! 

Now I have come across this when reading my bird book but really took no notice of it.  But in practice what it means is all the ducks are doing their best impressions of a female mallard.  Sure enough when we reached the hides there were dozens of 'female mallard' impersonators floating around, so rather than try to sort them out we looked for other stuff instead.

 

Redshanks are there all the time but always just a bit too far away for a good picture, but conscious of being very behind with my BY numbers here are my best efforts this year.

 

79.  Redshank

Preesall Sands  -  25/02/18

 

Leighton Moss  -  28/04/18

 

Leighton Moss  -  28/04/18

 

Leighton Moss  -  19/07/18

 

Edited July 23, 2018 by Zim Girl

[Zim Girl]

Having read all the ebc hints and tips very carefully, I thought I would give it my best shot.

 

80.  Greenshank  (Ignore the photobombing Oystercatcher)

 

Mmm, not blurry enough

 

There we go, that's a bit better  -  something Monet would be proud of.

Leighton Moss  -  19/07/18

 

 

[Zim Girl]

Now for another bird I have never seen before but one I always look for when we go.

I had been scanning the reedbed and saw some movement between clumps of reeds.  Finally I think I have found it. I ask the chap next to me for confirmation and yes it is, in fact, it turns out there are four of them skulking in the reeds.  They are so well camouflaged in the time it took me to get the camera up to take a shot I lost them again but eventually I managed to get two of them before they disappeared for good.

 

81.  Common Snipe

 

 

Leighton Moss  -  19/07/18

[Zim Girl]

I did see Little Egrets while we there but I am still holding out for a better picture.  One of the other highlights was watching the Marsh Harriers again but this time with a Hobby in the mix. First time I have seen one of them as well.  It was way too quick for me to get a picture but it was lovely to watch.

 

I will end with this little chap I had forgotten to post from a previous visit. 

 

Young Robin (No count)

Leighton Moss  -  09/06/18

[Galana]

Always worth a visit to Leighton Moss. You just never know what will turn up. Three more ticks and a cute Robinette.

[TonyQ]

Very nice additions, and that score is moving on!

[PeterHG]

Lovely additions and you may have to erase the ‘very tiny’ part of the thread title quite soon!

[Zim Girl]

A few years ago a project was set up by the local bird club to create artificial nest sites on pontoons in the marina at Preston Docks, specifically for Common Terns. The project was successful with 10 pairs nesting in 2011. The colony has gone from strength to strength and there are now over 130 pairs.  Arctic terns have also started to nest and there have also been sightings of Little, Black and Roseate terns.

 

We went to have a look yesterday.  The weather was rubbish with the rain but there were plenty of terns with chicks and lots of activity going on. We spent quite a while watching them and I took lots of pictures so I am afraid there is going to be Common Tern overload now

 

82.  Common Tern

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This pair were changing places to sit on their eggs. There were 3 eggs underneath.

 

Preston Docks  -  29/07/18

[Galana]

Beautiful. More please.

[TonyQ]

Wonderful pictures of the terns and their chicks!

[Peter Connan]

Wonderful!

[Dave Williams]

Excellent story re the terns. 

[Kitsafari]

lovely series of the terns and chicks. amazing that the birds learned to use the artificial nests.

in the 4th photo - did a tern lose an egg outside the box?

 

 

[Zim Girl]

17 hours ago, Kitsafari said:

lovely series of the terns and chicks. amazing that the birds learned to use the artificial nests.

in the 4th photo - did a tern lose an egg outside the box?

 

 

Thank you. Yes, it had been a real success story.

I did notice the egg outside the nesting box. I am afraid I do not know enough about tern behaviour to know whether it may have been deliberately discarded or just accidental.

 

 

[michael-ibk]

Lovely Tern sequence!

[Zim Girl]

15 hours ago, michael-ibk said:

Lovely Tern sequence!

 

Thanks Michael.

So I guess you are back from Costa Rica.  I hope that went really well, look forward to plenty of new BY pictures.