Zim Girl's 6th Big Year 2023

[Zim Girl]

UK 17.  Eurasian Coot

Fleetwood Marsh Nature Reserve  -  30/01/23

 

[Zim Girl]

UK 18.  Northern Shoveler

Fleetwood Marsh Nature Reserve  -  30/01/23

 

[Zim Girl]

UK 19.  Tufted Duck

Female

Male

Fleetwood Marsh Nature Reserve  -  30/01/23

 

[Zim Girl]

UK 20.  Pied Wagtail

Rossall Point  -  30/01/23

 

[TonyQ]

Excellent photos of your local birds. Showing the beauty of common birds!

The sighting of the Owls was wonderful!

[Peter Connan]

Beautiful!

[Zim Girl]

Thank you @TonyQ and @Peter Connan.

[xelas]

Indeed excellent photography!

[pedro maia]

Really cool the owls.

[Kitsafari]

so jealous of your owls! lovely photos of the other birds too. 

[Zim Girl]

Thank you @xelas, @pedro maia and @Kitsafari.

The owls are definitely a treat to see.

[Dave Williams]

Great start Angie. You need to catch the Twite while they are still there!

Our Tawny Owls are not very vocal this winter and haven't gone near the nest box they at least sat in last year. Oh well!

I have started collating my all-time UK portfolio and although some would discount it anyway, I don't have a Ring-necked Parakeet shot as they don't frequent North Wales. Surprisingly I do have a Plum-headed one though which was in the garden a year or two ago and had I been in to photography at the time I may well have had an African Grey Parrot to add too!

[Zim Girl]

Thanks @Dave Williams.

I do already have some pictures of the Twite, Dave, but taken in poor light so want to try to get better.  Actually went back on Sat am but they weren't in the usual place and we didn't have time to wait around. We also saw the Black Redstart that has been hanging around behind the apartments for a while but it was too far away for a recognisable picture.  Will try again in next week or two, they will still be around for a bit.

If you ever decide you really want a ring-necked then the Stanley Park/Salisbury woodland/Marton Mere area of Blackpool is a pretty good bet.

 

[BRACQUENE]

Great pictures !  About that beautiful Ring-necked Parakeet rare elsewhere even in parts of Belgium I honestly wish they were fewer in Brussels (latest estimation is between 20 and 30 thousand) they take over the nesting and resting places of indigenous birds and birding is not easy when they are around ; until now efforts to reduce the numbers have been unsuccessful but I must admit I am still looking out for another species the Alexandrine parakeet  

[michael-ibk]

Lovely photos, especially like the Robin. And how cool is that Tawny Owl. We used to have a Parakeet population here in Innsbruck for about 20 years but ultimately our harsh winters got to them.

[Zim Girl]

On 2/26/2023 at 11:20 AM, michael-ibk said:

Lovely photos, especially like the Robin. And how cool is that Tawny Owl. We used to have a Parakeet population here in Innsbruck for about 20 years but ultimately our harsh winters got to them.

Thank you Michael.  That Tawny Owl is super cool!

Looking forward to see what you found in Guyana.

[Zim Girl]

I didn't think I had got that many birds to post from the last few weeks, as I have been putting most of them in the 'ebc' folder in the hope of getting better.  The weather has been really gloomy lately so making it hard to get nice pictures.  However, I had more than I thought once I started going through them, so first a small batch of garden birds.

 

As I have mentioned before, we have had resident tree sparrows in our garden for years.  Most years they have produced 2 or 3 broods using the nest box in our back garden.  Sometimes the blue tits bully them out but last year they did very well and raised 3 broods.  They have been checking the box out again this year so fingers crossed.  These pics aren't the best as they were taken through two sets of glass and halfway down the garden but I thought they looked cute!

 

UK 21.  Eurasian Tree Sparrow

 

 

Back garden  -  27/01/23

 

[Zim Girl]

UK 22.  House Sparrow

Female

 

Male

Front garden  -  03/02/23

 

[Zim Girl]

Not the usual garden bird, but occasionally they have a wander around.  I spotted this one in the front trying to get to the feeders.  (In the rain and through glass).

 

UK 23.  Common Pheasant

 

Front garden  -  19/02/23

 

[Zim Girl]

Finally some sunshine!  

 

UK 24.  Common Chaffinch

Back garden  -  27/02/23

 

[Zim Girl]

Only the second time I have got this duck in BY.  It is a vagrant from North America and has been flitting between lakes at Leighton Moss for a few weeks.  The female is a bit similar to the female tufted duck, but has an obvious white eye ring.

 

UK 25.  Ring-necked Duck

 

RSPB Leighton Moss  -  04/02/23

 

[Zim Girl]

It didn't take long to find the missing goose.  There have been occasional sightings of White-fronted around and about but they have proved harder to pin down.

 

UK 26.  Greylag Goose

Fields near home  -  14/02/23

 

[Zim Girl]

Back to ducks!

 

UK 27.  Mallard

Female

 

Male

Stanley Park  -  14/02/23

 

[Zim Girl]

I know it's only a Gadwall but I couldn't decide which picture I preferred, so you've got all three!

 

UK 28.  Gadwall

Stanley Park  -  30/01/23

Stanley Park  -  14/02/23

Leighton Moss  -  18/02/23

 

[Zim Girl]

A walk through the local nature reserve started off in brilliant sunshine but ended up in thick cloud.

 

UK 29.  Song Thrush

Marton Mere  -  14/02/23