Zim Girl's 6th Big Year 2023

[Peter Connan]

Beautiful little birds, beautifully photographed!

[Zim Girl]

Thank you Peter, @Peter Connan.

[PeterHG]

Beautiful Beardies!

[Galana]

Terrific sequence.

[Kitsafari]

Lovely beardies! and there we were waiting so long in late May for these skulkers!

 

[Zim Girl]

Thanks @PeterHG, @Galana

6 hours ago, Kitsafari said:

Lovely beardies! and there we were waiting so long in late May for these skulkers!

 

Did they eventually appear?

 

 

[Kitsafari]

On 10/18/2023 at 6:35 PM, Zim Girl said:

Thanks @PeterHG, @Galana

Did they eventually appear?

 

 

 

we made another trip but very early in the morning and they appeared. thank goodness!

[michael-ibk]

One of my favourites - great photos!

[Zim Girl]

Still hoping to improve on some of the birds seen earlier in the year, so only a few to post at the moment.  The first two are pretty dreadful ebc's but I won't see them again so I will have to go with them.

 

UK 113.  Common Cuckoo

This is the only one we got an actual view of this year - heard plenty.

Binsey, North Lakes, Cumbria  -  22/05/23

 

We watched this next bird flying from tree to tree and Merlin confirmed it was a Tree pipit.

UK 114.  Tree Pipit

Borrowdale, Cumbria  -  06/06/23

 

 

 

[Zim Girl]

UK 115.  Western Jackdaw

Grasmere, Cumbria  -  11/11/23

 

[Zim Girl]

UK 116.  Goosander

Female

Lancaster Canal  -  28/10/23

 

[Zim Girl]

Also, still getting plenty of visits from the local Sparrowhawks.  These are some of the better pics of the ones taken recently.  All taken through windows into the back garden.

 

 

23/10/23

07/11/23

[PeterHG]

I love your local Sparrowhawks!

[Galana]

Sparrowhawks in the garden to order. Magic.

[Zim Girl]

So I have finally got through most of the birds from our Kenya trip in September.  For anyone that may have missed the TR and is interested, you can find it here.  https://www.safaritalk.net/topic/22629-a-kenyan-trio/#comments

 

 

As I said in my TR, I enjoyed the birding more this time.  All the guides were keen.  I thought we had noted down most of the id's, although on sorting through them back home it turned out we had a number of gaps.  Adrian got the blame for that .  So I have done my best.  If you see anything that is obviously wrong please shout, and I have a small assortment of 'uncertains' and 'don't knows' at the end that I would appreciate a bit of help with.

 

I am just posting in date order with a couple of duplicates from other areas, if I think they are the same bird.  Quality is extremely variable depending on distance and size of bird .

 

117.  KE 1.  White-browed Sparrow-Weaver

These are all different birds so just checking they are all the 'same' bird.

 

Meru NP

Tortilis camp, Amboseli NP

 

[Zim Girl]

118.  KE 2.  Long-tailed Fiscal

I think these are both long-tailed fiscals.

Meru NP

Amboseli NP

 

[Zim Girl]

119.  KE 3.  Goliath Heron

Meru NP

 

[Zim Girl]

120.  KE 4.  Little Bee-eater

Meru NP

 

[Zim Girl]

121.  KE5.  White-headed Buffalo-Weaver

 

Meru NP

 

 

[Zim Girl]

122.  KE 6.  Black-headed Lapwing

Meru NP

 

[Zim Girl]

123.  KE 7.  Laughing Dove

Meru NP

 

 

[Zim Girl]

124.  KE8.  Wattled Starling

It didn't help that a lot of birds were in non-breeding plumage.  Took me ages to work this one out.

Meru NP

 

[Zim Girl]

125.  KE9.  Somali Ostrich

Female

Male

Meru NP

 

Edited November 30, 2023 by Zim Girl

[Zim Girl]

126.  KE10.  Yellow-necked Spurfowl

Meru NP

 

 

[Zim Girl]

127.  KE11.  Helmeted Guineafowl

Meru NP