B.Y. 2019. The Tortoise rules!

[Dave Williams]

No ambitions other than to see if I can manage to stick with it for a whole big year in 2019. Would be nice to beat last years 375 though.

 

So to kick it off

No 1. Northern Shoveller

Out of practice I blew the whites but this was one of the best views I have ever had of the species at RSPB Burton Mere on the Wirral,UK.

Northern Shoveller   Spatula clypeata by Dave Williams, on Flickr

[Dave Williams]

2) Coot.

Same place and only a little white to cope with.

Coot     Fulica atra by Dave Williams, on Flickr

 

[Dave Williams]

3) Common Kestrel

I struggled to get a decent view of one last year so grateful this one sits on a post outside the visitor centre at Burton Mere.

Common Kestrel   Falco tinnunculus by Dave Williams, on Flickr

[Tdgraves]

Lovely shots @Dave Williams

[xelas]

Great start, @Dave Williams aka The Tortoise! It looks like The Hare will look at your back this entire year (or maybe not ).

[TonyQ]

Excellent start @Dave Williams including a lovely Kestrel.

 

[Dave Williams]

4) Purple Sandpiper

A winter visitor seen from the promenade at Rhos-on-Sea, a mile or two from home. You need to go in the morning to get decent light and you need high tide to see them close in. I had the latter but the light was a grey and overcast day, but I was out and about so all was well!

Purple Sandpiper  Calidris maritima by Dave Williams, on Flickr

[Dave Williams]

5)Ringed Plover

Another that roost at high tide locally.

Ringed Plover  Charadrius hiaticula by Dave Williams, on Flickr

[Dave Williams]

6) Dunlin

I'll settle for the trio from this visit to the high tide roost. I didn't get a Dunlin in last years BY so I'm ahead of the game!!

Dunlin   Calidris alpina by Dave Williams, on Flickr

[Dave Williams]

7) Common Scoter

There are hundreds of these sea ducks well out at sea and you need a 'scope to see them properly.Unusually there was a small group just 4-500 yards out off the local prom at Rhos.

Every BY needs some Every Bird Count's so why not start as I mean to go on.

Common Scoter  Melanitta nigra by Dave Williams, on Flickr

[Peter Connan]

Magnificent start Dave!

[Kitsafari]

excellent start and congrats on getting the dunlin. the purple sandpiper is a pretty thing, and, by my standards, you'd just failed the EBC test on the Scoter. 

[Dave Williams]

When I looked earlier my Purple Sandpiper had disappeared so I posted another one. As the original has now mysteriously reappeared there is no need but it's here anyway.

Purple Sandpiper   Calidris maritima by Dave Williams, on Flickr

Edited January 8, 2019 by Dave Williams

[Galana]

A great start Dai bach. Let us see the standard maintained.

[michael-ibk]

Off to a great start, high quality as always Dave! I have never seen a Purple Sandpiper.

[PeterHG]

Some superb shots in your first batch again, Dave! Go on and have a brilliant Big Year. You most certainly deserve one.

[Dave Williams]

8) Hen Harrier

Taken last week. It's the Dee estuary between The Wirral and North Wales. A wintering ground for both Hen and Marsh Harriers as well as Short Eared and Barn Owls.

It's totally silted up now at this point but the shot was taken from the quayside of what was once a Roman port.

 Hen Harrier   Circus cyaneus by Dave Williams, on Flickr

Edited January 10, 2019 by Dave Williams

[Dave Williams]

9) Pink-footed Goose

Another from last week on a very cold but still morning. The steam from the distant power station rising vertically.

The Geese overwinter in their tens of thousands in this corner of north west England.

Pink-footed Geese   Anser brachyrhynchus by Dave Williams, on Flickr

[Dave Williams]

10) Short-eared Owl

and the birds are getting smaller ! 

This was taken yesterday at Gronant , North Wales. The beach is one of the most successful breeding colonies of Little Terns in the summer but in winter it's a good spot for a few different species.The owls hunt the sand dunes.

The objects in the background are the cranes and buildings of Liverpool's Seaforth Docks, a huge container port.Between the spot here and Liverpool you have the Dee and Mersey estuaries and the Wirral peninsula.

Short-eared Owl   Asio flammeus by Dave Williams, on Flickr

Edited January 10, 2019 by Dave Williams

[Tdgraves]

Are you entering the EBC competition already @Dave Williams ?

[PeterHG]

Wow, male Hen Harriers and Short-eared Owl. Great finds, Dave!

[TonyQ]

Well done with the owl. If I enlarge it on my iPad it is very clear- it would cope with a bit of cropping.

Great to see a Hen Harrier. A productive outing!

[Dave Williams]

54 minutes ago, TonyQ said:

 If I enlarge it on my iPad it is very clear- it would cope with a bit of cropping.

 

 

Yes, it would Tony, and I even had some closer shots too but I like the idea of capturing what I saw, not what the camera did..if you know what I mean.

What is an EBC? Basically it's one where you really do struggle to identify the species. Take this one for example

Common Starling   Sturnus vulgaris by Dave Williams, on Flickr

It was taken with my shortest lens, a 24-105mm at 40mm. Each and every bird is an EBC but it's also the January photo on the RSPB's 2019 calendar so someone thought it was OK! We all have the tools available to take these kind of shots and that's also why I fully embrace the true EBC too.Everyone can join in the fun.

[Game Warden]

Wonderful image @Dave Williams I've stood on Brighton Pier and witnessed a similar spectacle close up. It's quite an amazing experience to be in the eye of the storm as it were...

[Dave Williams]

11) Common Gull

Not so common as some gull species, there were a few in amongst the hundreds of roosting seabirds at Gronant Beach,North Wales on Wednesday.

Common Gull    Larus canus by Dave Williams, on Flickr