Zim Girl's 7th Big Year 2024

[Peter Connan]

Beautiful photos!

[Zim Girl]

Thank you @xelas and @Peter Connan.

 

18 hours ago, offshorebirder said:

You are making me jealous with the good shorebird photos @Zim Girl and I would love to see a Common Pochard some day.   They are very similar to Redhead ducks in North America, which is one of my favorites.

Thank you very much for saying@offshorebirder.  The Pochard is a lovely duck although not always the easiest to see round here.  Keep looking in as I have one of 'your' ducks to post.  It has certainly been keeping the local (and not so local) birders busy!

[Zim Girl]

We spent a morning at Leighton Moss last week looking for a couple of american visitors, more on that later.  While in one of the hides, we noticed a female marsh harrier floundering in the water.  She sat like that for a couple of minutes and it wasn't at all clear what was going on.  Then she lifts up out of the water and underneath her is a struggling coot.  She has a valiant attempt at trying to drag it out of the water but can't manage it and lands in the lake again.  She then has another go but the poor coot who is bravely fighting for it's life is having none of it.  In the end she gives up and flies into the reeds to dry off.  We can just see her sitting there with her wings outstretched.  Next the male comes down for his turn.  He fares no better than the female and gives up even quicker.  The coot won!  Although it did look a bit feeble flapping around so will probably end up as meal for something else anyway.

 

So, a few pictures.  All a bit fuzzy, as the action was at the far side of the lake but you get the idea.

 

UK 43.  Western Marsh Harrier

First seen sitting in the water.

Trying to drag out the coot.

 

Having a rest before trying again.

 

 

 

Giving up.

The male having a try but also failing.

RSPB Leighton Moss  -  06/03/24

 

 

 

[Zim Girl]

We did find the birds we were looking for, but they were such a long way off that they wouldn't have even made an identifiable ebc.  We will be back for them later.

So a couple of others from the reserve.

 

UK 44.  Gadwall

RSPB Leighton Moss  -  06/03/24

 

 

[Zim Girl]

UK 45.  European Robin

RSPB Leighton Moss  -  06/03/24

 

[Zim Girl]

Then a drive south west to find a long staying visitor.  This bird has barely moved from this flooded field in several months.

 

UK 46.  Glossy Ibis

Middleton, Nr Heysham  -  06/03/24

 

[PeterHG]

What an exciting spectacle and photo sequence of the harrier and the coot! 

[Galana]

Good sequence with the Harrier.

[Peter Connan]

Lovely sighting!

[michael-ibk]

Great additions Angie, thrilling sighting with the Harriers. Would love to see Twite and Purple Sandpiper!

[Zim Girl]

Thank you @PeterHG, @Galana and @Peter Connan.

On 3/16/2024 at 7:12 PM, michael-ibk said:

Great additions Angie, thrilling sighting with the Harriers. Would love to see Twite and Purple Sandpiper!

Thank you Michael. We are very lucky that it is as easy for us to reach the coastal areas as it is to get into the hills, mountains and moorland.

I have another exciting encounter to come later, and this time much closer.

[Zim Girl]

So there was a little bit of excitement on Sunday morning.  I was just getting dressed when there was a massive bang near the window.  I looked across the room and could see a couple of small feathers floating down.  I guessed a pigeon must have flown into the window.  I looked out and there was a Sparrowhawk on the lower roof sitting on top of a struggling feral pigeon.  She was already plucking it.  She was really close to the window so I carefully moved away and ran downstairs for the camera.  When I came back she was busily tucking away into the pigeon.  I think it was dead by then but I am not entirely sure.  It didn't appear to be moving any more but she had it well pinned down.

I am sure you won't mind a few pics.  I couldn't get a very good angle between window bars and brickwork but I didn't want to scare her away by standing right in front of the window.

She was there for a full 5 minutes, then she took off carrying the pigeon with her.

 

UK 47.  Eurasian Sparrowhawk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As I have mentioned before, we see Sparrowhawks in the garden on a regular basis, and just to prove the point, here is a picture of a female sat on the fence from yesterday.  I think it is the same one as above.

Back garden  -  17th & 18th March

 

 

[PeterHG]

Now that is a scene to wake up to! Great shots in spite of the less than ideal angle.

[xelas]

One unlucky pigeon and one very happy photographer!

[Galana]

What a capture.

12 hours ago, Zim Girl said:

we see Sparrowhawks in the garden on a regular basis

Do you want a lodger??

[Peter Connan]

8 hours ago, Galana said:

What a capture.

Do you want a lodger??

Or two?

 

Great sequence!

[TonyQ]

An amazing garden sighting!

[Zim Girl]

Thank you everyone!

 

I just had a quick look and long before starting BY, I can see that I have pictures of sparrowhawks in the garden going back years.  In fact, on the day we moved into the house, I was stood in the back room looking into the garden when a wood pigeon crashed into the patio door and right behind it was a sparrowhawk.  It left the pigeon because it saw me standing there, but it set the scene for many more visits in years to come.

[Zim Girl]

Back to the birds after that chronological detour.

At this time of year, one of the 'must see' birds is the Hawfinch.  They are in the North Lancs/South Cumbria area but are really quite hard to find.  We have only managed it in one location and even there not always.  We failed last year.  

So as usual we park up in a National Trust property called Sizergh Castle.  You have a window of time until around 9.30am before too many cars and people turn up.  You sit on the cafe terrace and look across the car park to the trees on the other side and wait.  Luckily this year it was only 20 minutes before we started to see them on the ground picking up the fallen seeds.  We saw about 7 in total which was our best number so far.

 

UK 48.  Hawfinch

 

Sizergh Castle, South Cumbria  -  09/03/24

 

[Zim Girl]

Later in the day we dropped back into Leighton Moss to have another go at the american vagrants.

On the way down to the hide we passed a pair of very friendly marsh tits.  I always keep a few sunflower seeds in my pocket and they were very keen to indulge.  Not often you have to keep stepping back from a bird to take it's picture.

 

UK 49.  Marsh Tit

RSPB Leighton Moss  -  09/03/24

 

Edited March 20 by Zim Girl

[Zim Girl]

So did we find our target bird?

Well we did, but frustratingly at even greater distance than before.  We waited and waited until we lost sight of it. 

We were set to go when all of a sudden it was just there, in front of the hide, incredible!  We were so pleased.  Mind you, then I was muttering about poor light etc, but you can't have it all.   This pair was actually first seen on a golf course local to us.  They stayed there for 2 days and then flew north to LM, so we were glad we eventually caught up with them.

My 3rd lifer of the year.  

 

UK 50.  Lesser Scaup

 

 

 

RSPB Leighton Moss  -  09/03/24

 

 

 

 

[BRACQUENE]

Congratulations with your half century! Some great birds to get there 

[PeterHG]

Super photos of the Lesser Scaup! I’ve only ever seen one at quite a distance. It must have been really exciting to see them so close. Love the Hawfinches too. I haven’t seen them for some years.

[TonyQ]

Hawfinch, Marsh Tit and Lesser Scaup, you really are on a roll now!

[Galana]

Good to see persistence paying off.