Faulty starter motor, but I'll get it fixed . Soukous BY 2020

[Soukous]

6 hours ago, Kitsafari said:

Lovely new additions.  congrats on finding the spoonbills - never knew foxes could swim!

 

 

I knew they could swim, but i didn't realise how well they could swim. Crossing to that island is not a short swim and the currents are very strong. 

[Galana]

Even the dreaded Covid is producing some beneficial side effects. Ground nesting birds prospering from lack of disturbance, even @Soukous seeing more of his home patch. Results not in yet but I am sure the production of  lambing will be up 20% due to fewer folks walking their dogs on open land during lockdown.

Great photos by the way.

[PeterHG]

Great photos and great sightings! Interesting thoughts about the Turtle Dove. 

[Soukous]

British birds' long-distance feats and longevity are revealed

 

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jul/25/british-birds-long-distance-feats-are-tracked-thanks-to-ring

 

[Galana]

Great Article. Thanks.

[Soukous]

7 minutes ago, Galana said:

Great Article. Thanks.

 

It is, perhaps I should have posted it as a stand alone thread.

[Dave Williams]

I'm more than convinced that not being shot at on the way to their breeding grounds must have a beneficial impact. I just don't understand why hunters don't see the sense of waiting , if they must shoot them, until they are heading back in greater numbers.

[Soukous]

8 minutes ago, Dave Williams said:

I'm more than convinced that not being shot at on the way to their breeding grounds must have a beneficial impact. I just don't understand why hunters don't see the sense of waiting , if they must shoot them, until they are heading back in greater numbers.

 

I hope you're joking @Dave Williams  I'd rather they didn't shoot them at all.

[Dave Williams]

Of course I would prefer them not to be shot but the reality is that whatever laws are passed they are being totally ignored. Even Macron has come out in public and defended the rights of hunters, so no, it's not joking, it's being realistic . As I said , I just don't understand why the hunters don't realise the folly of their greed to shoot them which ever way they fly.

Meantime though, maybe we should clean up our own act here in the UK too. It's not just the Med were murder is taking place on a mass scale and its not all done by humans either. It's humans that have the power to intervene though.

[Soukous]

For some years now I have been trying to put together a trip to Senegal. It is a musical mecca of mine and the birding is pretty good too. 

Sadly it has proved difficult to get others excited about such a trip and I have resorted to looking at some companies that offer tours there.

 

One such is Sunbird Tours. For some reason I get their newsletter sent to me, although I don't recall ever signing up for it.

They have a nice looking trip in Senegal, but a quick look at the trip information caused them to be struck off the list of possibilities.

 

PHOTOGRAPHY: Scenery and memory shots will be plentiful and simple to obtain. Camera equipment should be packed in moisture and dust-proof bags as a precaution. If you wish to ‘digiscope’ please ensure that you bring your own telescope.
There will be plenty of opportunities to take photos of birds, scenery and perhaps mammals, and the leaders will do all they can to accommodate anyone wishing to take photographs. However if you are a serious photographer please bear in mind that this is first and foremost a birdwatching tour. Please do not allow your photographic desires to conflict with other participants' birdwatching activities.

 

Are we really that difficult to accommodate?

[Galana]

26 minutes ago, Soukous said:

Are we really that difficult to accommodate?

Do you want the truth or a well disguised lie? was an expression often heard in my day job.

 

It is probably the other way around.

 

Anyway, whilst not an authority, I believe it is relatively easy to arrange a trip to Senegal from The Gambia.

Good luck. @Dave Williams will surely know.

[Dave Williams]

I think it would be very easy to arrange a trip, I have one particular guide who I'm in regular contact with , I can ask if you like. He's very capable and has his own vehicle. 

[Soukous]

3 minutes ago, Dave Williams said:

I think it would be very easy to arrange a trip, I have one particular guide who I'm in regular contact with , I can ask if you like. He's very capable and has his own vehicle. 

 

Thanks Dave, filed for future reference.

[Soukous]

5 hours ago, Galana said:

Do you want the truth or a well disguised lie?

 

Preferably the truth, but not necessarily the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

[Dave Williams]

I have a sneaky feeling that a lot of birders on these trips would look down their noses at a photographer in their midst. Their objective is tick and run, they don't want to hang around for any more time than necessary. It's a numbers game!

From my angle I would avoid like the plague and be grateful I have been warned off to begin with. Imagine the horror of finding yourself in that situation!!

 

[Galana]

1 hour ago, Dave Williams said:

Imagine the horror of finding yourself in that situation!!

Been there, done that, got the scars. After one experience my dear lady wife produced the red card. "No more birding trips. We travel alone or with friends or I stay home."

It was when I coined the phrase "!xxxxx *! Chiff Chaff Chasers!" with or without an expletive as appropriate when, in 1999, we almost ran down a very photogenic mammal in the groups haste to see some bird or other coming to roost.

[Soukous]

11 hours ago, Galana said:

No more birding trips. We travel alone or with friends or I stay home."

 

That's pretty much my rule, unless I am being paid to accompany; in which case it is unlikely to be a birding trip. 

[Galana]

2 hours ago, Soukous said:

That's pretty much my rule, unless I am being paid to accompany; in which case it is unlikely to be a birding trip. 

Ha. I would not go on a trip with dedicated birders even if I was the paid tour leader. If you stop the minibus for any reason it takes at least an hour to round them all up again. Meal times are a joke and one famous TO now has to insist that when the party is accommodated in two Land cruisers they both must remain together in visual contact "so that everyone gets the same chance". I have seen grown people fight for the best seat. They sneak down before first light to put their kit on 'their' seat just like another nation does with towels round a Hotel pool. One guy used to ride with his Camera and Monopod rigged in the front seat looking just like Rommel before Tobruk and woe betide any mere mortal who tried to get out past him.

Better give you your topic back. I fancy Senegal.

[Soukous]

3 minutes ago, Galana said:

I fancy Senegal.

 so something good emerged from your rant 

[Galana]

1 hour ago, Soukous said:

so something good emerged from your rant 

That was not a rant, just an honest personal opinion.

[Dave Williams]

A bit of confirmed info. I already knew that some trips to Senegal land in Banjul, others in Dakar. Probably easier and cheaper, I haven't checked, to fly to Banjul from the UK. To go to north Senegal you take a 30 minute ferry crossing from Banjul, from experience as a foot passenger it's good fun but in a car you might have to wait to get on for some time due to limited capacity. The drive to the border takes about 15 minutes. Passports required but no VISA then you are away. There is a wildlife park but it's all reintroduced and not worth a visit from what I have read.

Up river in TG is very good, you probably get mostly the same species as Senegal but Senegal probably offers a better standard of accommodation. TG's is basic to say the leas.

The southern area of Senegal is likely to be more difficult to get to without going up country in TG, again, I haven't looked in to that but there isn't really any need to go there.

What I love about TG is that the birding is excellent and a mix of overwintering European species and more "exotic" local ones. only 6 hour flight, no time difference and inexpensive.excellent winter sun destination...what's not to like! The big question is when will we be allowed to return? 

[Soukous]

well, if nothing else it was a wonderful walk.

I'd hoped to find some Little terns, but did not succeed. The walk, however, was delightful, along an almost deserted beach flanked by crumbling sandstone cliffs from Covehithe to Benacre Broad.

This nature reserve lies between Southwold and Lowestoft on the Suffolk coast.

 

The cliffs provide an ideal place for Sand Martins to nest and there were plenty of them performing early morning aerobatics.

 

 

 

sadly not much else. A few Linnets and lots of herring Gulls

 

but I did manage to get one for my BY as i walked back through the farm.

 

#163 - Starling - Sturnus vulgaris (FTP #65)

Covehithe, Suffolk. July 2020

 

 

 

and a juvenile

 

[Galana]

The humble and ubiquitous but colourful Starling to the rescue.

Love the Martins in good light. I fear you may find the Little Terns already heading off the breeding grounds. Ours have already gone.

[Soukous]

1 hour ago, Galana said:

I fear you may find the Little Terns already heading off the breeding grounds.

 

Too true, but it was a lovely walk.

[Soukous]

1 hour ago, Galana said:

Love the Martins in good light.

 

Yes.

There are plenty of Sand Martins at RSPB Minsmere but they only get light on the nest holes in the afternoon. 

Along the Covehithe - Benacre stretch of coast the nest holes face the sea so they catch the early morning sun.