Zim Girl's 6th Big Year 2023

[Towlersonsafari]

looks like a lovely trip to the cairngorms @Zim Girl

[pedro maia]

Looks like you were really lucky with the weather and with the sightings, my favourite is the Snow bunting, congrats on the century.

[PeterHG]

That lookes like a great trip with some wonderful sightings! Those badgers are just stunning. I've never seen one and the experience must have been incredible. Your perseverance with the crested tits paid off even if you would have liked to get better shots. Lots of other exciting encounters, like black-throated divers, snow bunting and others. I really enjoyed seeing your photos of the trip!

[Peter Connan]

Congratulations on the UK century and all the wildlife!

[xelas]

Wonderful days you have had in Scotland!

[michael-ibk]

Congrats on #100, well done. I love the Badgers, what a great experience. Good you found your Crested Tit. Come visit if you need more of them. 😉

[Zim Girl]

Thank you @Towlersonsafari, @pedro maia, @PeterHG, @Peter Connan, @xelas and @michael-ibk.

 

The badger sighting was a massive highlight as I had never seen one before, and such incredible value.  The small community team at Boat of Garten have been doing this since the nineties and they volunteer their services, so they only charge enough to cover the cost of the peanuts and a small donation to their work.  The owner of the land the badger sett is on doesn't charge them anything for access.  To compare, the Lake District has a badger hide which charges £130 per person for exclusive use, so I think £10 was a bargain.

[Galana]

Congratulations all round. First on the several lifers, including your Badgers, and of course the Century and two lovely chicks to do it with. I did not chance the cairngorms this year but your trip has given me thought to change my plans for 2024. Thanks for the inspiration.

[Kitsafari]

love love the badgers! so awesome to see them close up. 

[Zim Girl]

Thank you @Kitsafari.

[Dave Williams]

What a cracking trip you had to Scotland! Love the Mountain Hares, excellent Snow Bunting and what would have been a lifer for me had we found one, the Black-throated Diver. Good to see you found the Crested Tits we missed too but no Scottish Crossbill? Were you not inclined to go for the Dolphins at Chanonry Point?

I can remember the thrill I had with my first Badger but nowadays I just put the food out and don't look ! My current target is....I'll let you guess!!

[TonyQ]

A great trip with some real highlights- the badgers were amazing. The mountain hare, snow bunting and the Crested Tit. Well done on a magical 100.

[Zim Girl]

16 hours ago, Dave Williams said:

What a cracking trip you had to Scotland! Love the Mountain Hares, excellent Snow Bunting and what would have been a lifer for me had we found one, the Black-throated Diver. Good to see you found the Crested Tits we missed too but no Scottish Crossbill? Were you not inclined to go for the Dolphins at Chanonry Point?

I can remember the thrill I had with my first Badger but nowadays I just put the food out and don't look ! My current target is....I'll let you guess!!

Thanks Dave.  We were looking for the Crossbill on all the forest walks but no luck and we saw the dolphins when we were in Scotland last year.  Now we want a closer look at the Black-throated Diver, so never satisfied. We also didn't find Red-Throated.

15 hours ago, TonyQ said:

A great trip with some real highlights- the badgers were amazing. The mountain hare, snow bunting and the Crested Tit. Well done on a magical 100.

Thank you very much Tony.

[Zim Girl]

So catching up on the last few weeks.  Weather has been difficult to say the least!

 

I have only ever been able to find the Great black-backed gull at Leighton Moss, as they have several breeding pairs there.  So here from the same spot as usual, we have the adult from earlier in the year, and then the juvenile in the same place but with less water.

 

UK 101.  Great Black-backed Gull

27/03/23

RSPB Leighton Moss  -  29/07/23

 

 

 

Edited August 1, 2023 by Zim Girl

[Zim Girl]

UK 102.  Mediterranean Gull  (in centre of picture)

RSPB Leighton Moss  -  01/07/23

[Zim Girl]

This is the closest I have ever got to this bird, shame it was raining and the light was dreadful.

 

UK 103.  Common Greenshank

RSPB Leighton Moss  -  01/07/23

 

[Zim Girl]

A group of up to 5 Spoonbills have been hanging around at LM for a few weeks now.  We have tried to get pictures of them a few times but they are always at the far end of the pool.  This last time they were very active feeding and chasing each other around so nice to watch.

 

UK 104.  Eurasian Spoonbill

 

RSPB Leighton Moss  -  29/07/23

 

[Zim Girl]

I do like this next wader.  Large (so easier to see), not too skittish (so easier to photograph), attractive (so looks good on a photograph) and you get the choice of a group shot or an individual portrait .

 

UK 105.  Black-tailed Godwit

18/03/23

01/07/23

RSPB Leighton Moss  -  01/07/23

 

[Zim Girl]

Finally for now.

 

UK 106.  Little Egret

Conder Pool, nr Glasson  -  08/07/23

 

[Dave Williams]

Good to see someone is out and about and making a bit of progress!

[Zim Girl]

New sightings are a bit thin on the ground at the moment.  Been trying for a few birds but never in the right place at the right time. So just a handful to tidy up before we go to Kenya at the end of the week.

 

UK 107.  Common Starling

Back garden  -  10/05/23

Near home  -  02/09/23

 

 

 

[Zim Girl]

We are lucky to have a pair of Greenfinch visit our garden quite regularly.

 

UK 108.  European Greenfinch

Back garden  -  30/07/23

 

[Zim Girl]

UK 109.  Great Spotted Woodpecker

Foulshaw Moss  -  04/03/23

Back garden  -  30/08/23

 

[Zim Girl]

UK 110.  Eurasian Bullfinch

Leighton Moss  -  27/03/23

Leighton Moss  -  26/08/23

 

[Zim Girl]

While we were at LM we also had a close flyby from a fishing Osprey.  Already posted on BY but probably as close as I have ever been to one.  Tagged Blue 476, apparently a 2 yr old from a previous Cumbria nest (not Foulshaw).