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

[Soukous]

Lucky me. I kept an eye on the spot where I'd seen the Redwing and he put in another appearance.

Still a hefty crop, but no longer hiding behind a twig.

 

 

 

and I even got a bit of sunshine

 

[Soukous]

It's just a wee bit frustrating seeing @Kitsafari post such gorgeous Kingfishers and Cuckoos when icy temperatures and a biting wind make it tough to even take photos outdoors.

 

Reports of Whooper Swans on a nearby pond enticed me out to take a look, but no sign of them any more. Just one new species.

 

#56 Coot - Fulica atra

Ufford, Suffolk. Feb 2021

 

 

after that I was confined to looking out of the window in the hope of something appearing in the garden.

 

#57 - Woodpigeon - Columba palumbus

Ufford, Suffolk. Feb 2021

 

 

 

even dreaded feeder shots get included on such days

 

#58 - Goldfinch - Carduelis carduelis

Ufford, Suffolk. Feb 2021

 

 

[Dave Williams]

I'll be joining you soon Martin!!

[Soukous]

6 minutes ago, Dave Williams said:

I'll be joining you soon Martin!!

 

you're coming to Suffolk? 

[Dave Williams]

No, resorting to feeder shots!!

 

[Soukous]

4 hours ago, Soukous said:

Reports of Whooper Swans on a nearby pond

 

Doh. No wonder I didn't find them, I went to the wrong pond. They were actually much further away. 

[Soukous]

I was surprised to see this fellow on one of the drainage channels running between the road and fields. I guess the biting wind coming in from the east has pushed them a bit further inland than normal.

I thought I would get a better shot but a family with dogs came along from the opposite direction and he flew off.

 

#59 - Cormorant - Phalacrocorax carbo

Ufford, Suffolk. Feb 2021

 

 

This little chap was in fine voice. I could hear him but it took me ages to find him, and then we began a game of hide and seek as I tried to get a decent shot. The only time he was in the open was when he was a little far away. 

 

#60 Wren - Troglodytes troglodytes

Ufford, Suffolk. Feb 2021

 

 

 

he gradually came a bit closer but stayed in the thick of the branches

 

 

 

Edited February 14, 2021 by Soukous

[Galana]

Lovely study of that wren.

[michael-ibk]

Agree, very nice. You are really racing off Martin!

[Soukous]

36 minutes ago, michael-ibk said:

Agree, very nice. You are really racing off Martin!

 

well, not a lot else to do at the moment, I either walk around the house or walk around the village 

[TonyQ]

Agree, excellent Wren series 

[Kitsafari]

15 hours ago, Soukous said:

It's just a wee bit frustrating seeing @Kitsafari post such gorgeous Kingfishers and Cuckoos when icy temperatures and a biting wind make it tough to even take photos outdoors.

 

 

 

You won't say the same thing if you live in the tropics when, instead of four seasons marked by flowers, sun, golden leaves, snow, are two seasons of hot and humid, wet and humid, and constant 30 degrees throughout the year.

 

Agree on the pretty wren shots!

Edited February 15, 2021 by Kitsafari

[Soukous]

8 hours ago, Kitsafari said:

You won't say the same thing if you live in the tropics when, instead of four seasons marked by flowers, sun, golden leaves, snow, are two seasons of hot and humid, wet and humid, and constant 30 degrees throughout the year.

 

OK, you're right. I do like the seasons and I am not a fan of humidity.

[shazdwn]

On 2/15/2021 at 11:44 AM, Kitsafari said:

 

You won't say the same thing if you live in the tropics when, instead of four seasons marked by flowers, sun, golden leaves, snow, are two seasons of hot and humid, wet and humid, and constant 30 degrees throughout the year.

 

Agree on the pretty wren shots!

Actually I kind of like it that way 🧐😁

[Soukous]

To see a mockingbird: birdwatchers fined for breaking Covid rules

 

Five twitchers travelled to Devon to photograph a northern mockingbird, last seen in the UK in the 1980s

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/15/to-see-a-mockingbird-birdwatchers-fined-for-breaking-covid-rules

[Soukous]

A short dry spell this morning but on the birding front it was 

 

Great Spotted Woodpecker at the feeder - a nicer than my previous post

 

 

A Collared Dove, which is pretty common around here but only a rare visitor to the garden

 

and one newbie, a Grey Heron on the far side of the fields

 

#61 - Grey Heron - Ardea cinerea

Ufford, Suffolk. Feb 2021

 

 

 

[Galana]

1 hour ago, Soukous said:

but on the birding front it was 

Brilliant.

[Soukous]

A frustrating time. My birding group keeps reporting sightings of interesting/rare species in far flung parts of the county and it takes an effort of willpower not to jump into car and drive there. But I'm being a good boy and resist the temptation.  

 

Closer to home, ie within walking distance of home there is far less excitement. Even the river is failing to attract very much.

 

#62 - Little Egret - Egretta garzetta

River Deben, Woodbridge, Suffolk. Feb 2021

 

(if you can't post lots of different birds, post several photos of the same one )

 

 

 

 

the light was not great and out of breeding plumage some species just look dull

 

Black-tailed Godwit

 

Does the white moustache on this Black-headed Gull have any significance or has he just neglected to wipe his face after his cappucino?

 

Edited February 24, 2021 by Soukous

[Galana]

I wonder if the moult into Spring has not worked by the bill?

[Soukous]

Black-browed babbler found in Borneo 180 years after last sighting

 

In the 1840s, a mystery bird was caught on an expedition to the East Indies. Charles Lucien Bonaparte, the nephew of Napoleon, described it to science and named it the black-browed babbler (Malacocincla perspicillata).

The species was never seen in the wild again, and a stuffed specimen featuring a bright yellow glass eye was the only proof of its existence. But now the black-browed babbler has been rediscovered in the rainforests of Borneo.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/25/black-browed-babbler-found-in-borneo-180-years-after-last-sighting

[Kitsafari]

@Soukous I was just reading that article. so incredible!

[Soukous]

5 minutes ago, Kitsafari said:

@Soukous I was just reading that article. so incredible!

 

Yes, and I am sure it is not the only one hiding in the rainforest

[shazdwn]

Wow what an incredible story, thanks for sharing 

[elefromoz]

Fantastic photos of the little Wren with his stubby little tail

[Soukous]

An absolutely glorious morning today. Sunshine, blue sky and almost no wind.

So good in fact, that I accompanied my better half on her morning dog walk in the hope of some photographs.

Very quiet indeed, even the shingle banks were bare of cormorants.

 

I did see an obliging Skylark

 

we had turned for home and were lamenting the lack of birds when a Barn Owl flew up from the long grass. I have since been advised that it was a Short-eared Owl. 

It flew on about 75 metres and then settled; once again hidden from view.

Of course I tried to get closer, and of course it flew off again.

 

Then, all of a sudden there were 2 of them in the sky. 

A bit distant, but I had to get a shot of this, 2 Barn Owls together. No, 2 Short-eared Owls

 

wait a second, that doesn't look like another Barn Owl, could it be a Kestrel?

 

No, it is a Short-eared Owl. In fact the are both Short-eared Owls

 

They were both moving away from me, and had started to get mobbed by Rooks so were unlikely to settle again. 

But how cool was that? 

 

#63 - Barn Owl - Tyto alba  

#63 - Short-eared Owl - Asio flammeus

Shingle Stree, Suffolk. Feb 2021

 

 

Edited February 27, 2021 by Soukous