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OK, let's see what turns up - BY 2021


Soukous

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Good trip I'd say! The quote for guiding wasn't expensive in my option, just plainly ridiculous! Who on earth would pay that...and what would you expect to get in return?

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15 minutes ago, Dave Williams said:

Good trip I'd say! The quote for guiding wasn't expensive in my option, just plainly ridiculous! Who on earth would pay that...and what would you expect to get in return?

 

Yes, a very enjoyable trip - the eagle spectacular easily made up for the lack of other species and it it great to be able to explore somewhere new after months of confinement. Which has just re-commenced due to a lack of fuel to go anywhere :(:angry:

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It's freezing cold up here and I'm quite happy to sit at home or walk in to town if I need anything. I refuse to queue for fuel !

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24 minutes ago, Dave Williams said:

It's freezing cold up here and I'm quite happy to sit at home or walk in to town if I need anything. I refuse to queue for fuel !

 

for fuel or for just about anything else - life's too short.  The only ones I cannot avoid are airport baggage drop queues and immigration queues. Although it's been a while since I 'enjoyed' either of those

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5 hours ago, Soukous said:

The only ones I cannot avoid are airport baggage drop queues and immigration queues. Although it's been a while since I 'enjoyed' either of those

See. You only miss the 'good' things when they are gone.:D

Cheer up. Soon it will be happening again and you can smile at the grumpy Officer again.

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After confining myself to quarters for the past few days as I didn't fancy having to queue for petrol I was starting to suffer from cabin fever. With the sun making an appearance in between squally showers it was time to venture out, not so much in expectation of any new sightings but just to get out.

 

Hazelwood Marshes is not far away, about 10 miles, and is managed by Suffolk Wildlife Trust. Over the past week there have been daily sightings of Spoonbills so i thought I may as well take a look.

This was the first time in the past 2 years that I have been there when the hide was open - just as well really as the wind was pretty sharp.

 

The view from the hide

Hazelwood Marshes

 

I counted 24 Spoonbills and as many Curlews, though none of them came particularly close

 

At least these are an improvement on my crappy offering at # 76

Eurasian Spoonbills

 

Eurasian Spoonbill

 

Eurasian Spoonbill

 

An Osprey flew over the hide but I didn't see it until it was disappearing in the distance :(

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oooh i love spoonbills and yours look great. 

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On 9/29/2021 at 9:01 PM, Galana said:

Enviable sighting of Spoonbills. And a worthy day out.

 

even more so as it seems to have been raining ever since I got home

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  • 2 weeks later...

I know that on a few occasions (maybe more :ph34r:) I have commented that dogs and bird photography are not a good combination, but sometimes it can work out well - in a roundabout way.

 

The new EU regulations on taking our 4 legged friends onto the Continent gave me the opportunity to 'opt out' of a visit to Germany for Madame's mother's birthday. (I know, you're wondering why I'd want to miss out on the chance to spend time with a room full of people 25 years older than me and speaking a language I struggle to respond in. But that's just me. :D)

 

I thought I may as well take advantage of my solo status and head up to Scotland for a few days. Making the decision was easy, finding somewhere to stay less so, especially somewhere that let me bring the dogs. 

 

A lot of searching eventually brought me to Moray Coast Cottage (https://www.moraycoastcottages.com/our-cottages/

They had availability and they would allow the dogs. Yippee!

This would be my first return to Lossiemouth for 40+ years. 

 

I knew I would be just a wee bit early for most of the winter migrants but it's a stunning part of the UK.

 

The cottage I'd booked was right on the Estuary of the River Lossie, just a few metres from the footbridge that crosses the water to the magnificent East Beach. Unfortunately the footbridge was deemed to be unsafe in 2019 and was closed. :angry: One of the best beaches in the UK and I could not get to it. Approval has been given for the bridge to be knocked down and replaced - it was supposed have been completed by the end of 2021 but, as work has not even started yet, that seems unlikely.

 

And that was the only negative I could find. The cottage has everything anyone could need; and Colin & Wendy even provide a welcome pack consisting of eggs, milk, bread, bacon and butter. Brilliant. Early morning walks along the river, brilliant.

 

You're probably wondering by now when I'll get around to the birding :D

That's the trouble with the last few months of each BY, there may be plenty of birds about but almost all of them are already on the list.

 

So not many new ones then. But I did get a couple.

 

#136 - Pink-footed Goose - Anser brachyrhynchus

Moray Firth, Scotland. October 2021

 

At one point there were hundreds of them flying overhead, but they were headed somewhere far from where I was. I finally found these in Findhorn Bay, distant but recognisable 

 

pinkfeet.jpg.3f515fb54ea94fa6f4056d6885d90855.jpg

 

The only other new species I got was a bird that seemed to pop up wherever I went. At one site I counted 33 of them swimming offshore. :angry: corrected thanks to a friendly reminder from @Galanathat this was already on my list.

 

:angry: :ph34r: It gets worse, it is entirely possible that these are Goosanders not Red-Breasted Mergansers

 

Red-breasted Merganser - Mergus serrator

Moray Firth, Scotland. October 2021

 

Red-breastd Merganser

 

Red-breastd Merganser

 

 

Edited by Soukous
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One in five of Europe’s bird species slipping towards extinction

 ‘Red list’ report finds 30% of native species in decline due to loss of habitat, intensive farming and climate crisis

:(

 

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/14/one-in-five-of-europes-bird-species-slipping-towards-extinction-aoe

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12 hours ago, Soukous said:

#137 - Red-breasted Merganser - Mergus serrator

Moray Firth, Scotland. October 2021

Tell me please. Is this a different species to your #118 we both saw on Uist?;)

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15 hours ago, Galana said:

Tell me please. Is this a different species to your #118 we both saw on Uist?;)

 

Of course it isn't. Just seeing if you're paying attention. B)

I don't know how, but I completely forgot that I saw Mergansers on Uist. 

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43 minutes ago, Soukous said:

Just seeing if you're paying attention.

Anybody who buys me Glenlivet gets my attention;)

Another bottle and I could put up a case, no pun intended, that your Moray birds were /are Goosanders. Both species are darn scruffy in the Autumn moult. Do you have good views of the speculems?

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49 minutes ago, Galana said:

Another bottle and I could put up a case, no pun intended, that your Moray birds were /are Goosanders. Both species are darn scruffy in the Autumn moult.

 

That would not help much as they are also on my BY list at #110

 

Now that you mention speculum plumage I may have to revise my ID :(

Red-breasted Mergansers

 

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8 hours ago, Soukous said:

Now that you mention speculum plumage I may have to revise my ID 

Too close to call. Imm Males of both species are so variable. Given they were on the open sea the odds favour RBM but.....

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On 10/14/2021 at 5:04 PM, Soukous said:

One in five of Europe’s bird species slipping towards extinction

 ‘Red list’ report finds 30% of native species in decline due to loss of habitat, intensive farming and climate crisis

:(

 

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/14/one-in-five-of-europes-bird-species-slipping-towards-extinction-aoe

 

 

:(

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Sadly my foray to the Moray did not yield the boost my BY needs :(

It is certainly a beautiful area though and one that I am sure I will visit again. It seems that Spring or Winter are the times to go.

 

Whilst new species were scarce, I did manage to improve on some of those already in my list.

 

Grey Heron (# 61)

Grey Heron

 

Guillemot (#  97)

Guillemot

 

Turnstone (# 5)

Turnstone

 

Great Spotted Woodpecker (# 44)

Great Spotted Woodpecker

 

When I saw these two I had hoped they would be Bar-tailed Godwits as they are apparently quite common here, but sadly they were Black-Tailed Godwits (# 1) although it was nice to see them in non-breeding plumage

Black-tailed Godwit

 

The Knots (# 127) were also looking very different without their breeding colours

Knots

 

Knots

 

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12 minutes ago, Soukous said:

I had hoped they would be Bar-tailed Godwits

Well I would not argue with that. They look Bar-tailed to me but after my own problems I will leave it to others.

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1 minute ago, Galana said:

Well I would not argue with that. They look Bar-tailed to me but after my own problems I will leave it to others.

 

At first I thought they were, but then I began to doubt my initial ID (just as I did with the R-B Mergansers) 

 

@michael-ibkhas proclaimed that he is the current expert on Bar-tailed Godwits :P so I'll wait for his verdict

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The moral to this story is don't shoot while they are still running.:ph34r:

1-DSCN0815.JPG.0bf23857925b7c06bac7447cc9c41057.JPG

 

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Beautiful photos @Soukous! In my view you’ve definitely got a Bar-tailed there.

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2 minutes ago, PeterHG said:

Beautiful photos @Soukous! In my view you’ve definitely got a Bar-tailed there.

 

Woo Hoo!, thank you. You must tell me how you came to this decision. (please)

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