TonyQ Big Year Number 5

[TonyQ]

15.UK.15. Grey Heron  Ardea cinerea           

Trittiford Pool, Birmingham     10.01.2020

Common but still very striking.

A young Spanish woman saw us taking photos of birds and came up to us to show us a photo on her phone and told us she had just seen this beautiful bird and told us where it was. She was very excited to see it - and we were pleased!

[Towlersonsafari]

So @TonyQ your mention of garden lists mad eme spend an hour wracking what passes for a brain to write down my list-when i really should have been working. i also count fly-overs-but a neighbours garden???! My top bird was a flyover peregrine but my favourites are my Bullfinches

i do enjoy flicking through your-and the others-Big year topics 

[TonyQ]

@Towlersonsafari  thank you. We count anything we can see from our house or garden. So the neighbours’ gardens do count!

[elefromoz]

@TonyQ, always enjoy seeing your English birds. A Blue Tit was my first London bird, as we stepped into Kensington Gardens, so pretty.

[TonyQ]

@elefromoz thank you - they are beautiful birds and it is very easy for us to take them for granted as we see them every day.

 

A few more from the garden, and one for @Towlersonsafari

 

16.UK.16. Bullfinch     Pyrrhula pyrrhula        

(F) Our Garden, Birmingham        12.01.2020

(M) Our Garden, Birmingham        12.01.2020

Regular visitors, especially in the winter but they do also pop in during the summer

 

[TonyQ]

17.UK.17. Nuthatch     Sitta europea  

Our Garden, Birmingham        12.01.2020

Our Garden, Birmingham        12.01.2020

Quite common, but not daily visitors

[TonyQ]

18.UK.18. Coal Tit       Periparus ater

Our Garden, Birmingham        12.01.2020

Not as common as Blue Tit and Great Tit, but their behaviour also makes it harder to notice them. They appear more timid, hiding amongst twigs, nipping to the feeder for a seed and then they fly off out of the garden with the seed. Blue Tits and Great Tits often hang aroud more so are easier to see. It is always a treat to see them.

[TonyQ]

19.UK.19. Great Tit     Parus major    

Our Garden, Birmingham        12.01.2020

A very regular visitor, not as common as Blue Tit but seen a lot throughout the year - particularly in cold weather and later in the year when they have babies.

[TonyQ]

20.UK.20. Long-tailed Tit   Aegithals caudatus          

Our Garden, Birmingham        12.01.2020

Our Garden, Birmingham        12.01.2020

 

The brief patch of sunshine had gone when these arrived so light not good.

They do not visit as regularly as Blue/Great Tits, but at this time of year they arrive as a small flock. They bustle around a lot, visit the suet feeder for a couple of minutes and then disappear. I put the second photo in,even though they are on the feeder just to show an impression of them operating as a group.

[TonyQ]

21.UK.21. Dunnock     Prunella modularis     

Our Garden, Birmingham        12.01.2020

Our Garden, Birmingham        12.01.2020

Seen daily in the garden, often feeding on the ground and often in deep shade. They have learned to eat from the feeders but I think they prefer bits dropped to the ground by other birds. ( especially for @michael-ibk )

[Zim Girl]

Lovely set of garden birds Tony.  I am impressed you get Bullfinch and Nuthatch in your garden.

ST not letting me 'like' at the moment, so consider all liked!

[michael-ibk]

I´m getting spoilt with Dunnocks.

[Kitsafari]

still loving those tits. 

[elefromoz]

@TonyQ, I hadn't considered the Nuthatch a garden bird, the couple Ive seen have been in the forrest. Missed the Bullfinch and the oh so cute,Long Tailed Tit, a couple to try for on our next visit.

 

[TonyQ]

@Zim Girl @michael-ibk thank you

@elefromoz  The Nuthatch is really a woodland bird, as are most of our garden birds. We are lucky that our small garden has a number of nearby larger gardens with mature trees that are good homes for some of these birds. There are also some nearby parks which also provide a good home.

@Kitsafari thank you - the next one is for you!

 

22.UK.22. Marsh Tit  Poecile palustris           

Earlswood, nr Birmingham      15.01.2020

Earlswood, nr Birmingham      15.01.2020

This bird doesn't visit our garden, so we had to leave the house!

That leaves us with the Willow Tit, which we might get fairly locally but is harder to see. (The Willow Tit doesn't occur at Earlwood so we are very confident in the identification as Marsh Tit).

The Crested Tit is only found in Scotland (and I haven't seen one yet). The Bearded Tit is not found locally but is a possible during the year.

 

Tit comes from the word "titmouse" going back to the 14th Century, meaning small creature. This word was still in use until the 1970s. So although scientifically the Long-tailed Tit is in a different group to other tits, and there have been attempts to call the Bearded Tit a Bearded Reedling as it is also in a different group - I still think they are "small creatures"!

[TonyQ]

23.UK.23. House Sparrow  Passer domesticus         

Earlswood, nr Birmingham      15.01.2020

[TonyQ]

24.UK.24. Goosander  Mergus merganser    

(M) Earlswood, nr Birmingham      15.01.2020

(F) Earlswood, nr Birmingham      15.01.2020

Earlswood, nr Birmingham      15.01.2020

[TonyQ]

25.UK.25. Great Spotted Woodpecker  Dendrocopos major 

Earlswood, nr Birmingham      15.01.2020

[TonyQ]

26.UK.26. Green Woodpecker  Picus viridis  

Earlswood, nr Birmingham      15.01.2020

Earlswood, nr Birmingham      15.01.2020

In my first Big Year, we had a really good sighting of a pair of Green Woodpecker at Upton Warren, and also saw one in a local park. Being new, I thought they must be easy to see. Four years later we have seen another one - so we were very pleased with this sighting.

 

They feed on ants and other insects, and the second  photo shows it digging. I took many photos of a bird with no head!

Edited January 16, 2020 by TonyQ

[michael-ibk]

Great Green Woodpecker! 

[Soukous]

Wow! The variety of birds - and weather - in your garden is far better than mine. Still waiting for our first sunny day. 
Love the Green Woodpecker, sadly our dogs have discouraged them from visiting our garden.

[Zim Girl]

Ok, now it's my turn to be jealous  -  Green Woodpecker!!

[xelas]

Nice selection of Tits , @TonyQ! What about Penduline Tit, is it possible to spot one in UK?

[Galana]

Well worth a day out @TonyQ

A batch of great photos.

[TonyQ]

@Galana @Zim Girl @Soukous @michael-ibk thank you

@xelas thank you. Penduline Tits are rare vagrants in the UK, so possible but very unlikeky!

 

Sandwell Valley is just outside Birmingham

27.UK.27. Gadwall  Anas strepera     

Sandwell Valley           18.01.2020

(M) Sandwell Valley           18.01.2020

(F) Sandwell Valley           18.01.2020

Edited January 21, 2020 by TonyQ