Last weekend, I had the pleasure of catching up with the long-staying male Black-throated Thrush at Whipsnade Zoo, in Bedfordshire (a long way from home for this Geordie). Enjoying a scarce bird is always a pleasure but, I confess, the experience of observing just such a lost waif in the company of free-ranging South AmericanContinue reading “Enjoying a waif from the East”
Tag Archives: Birds
The benefits of ‘curtain twitching’
We all have days when everything feels like just a little bit too much: like myriad tasks are mounting up uncontrollably while motivation [and self-worth] are cascading downwards. Slumps and spells of low creativity as we bemoan mounting pressures but do little to combat them due to persistent, nagging and quite frankly, irritating, doubts. Yes,Continue reading “The benefits of ‘curtain twitching’”
Advice from a not so Expert Birder, a guest post by Liam Thompson
I don’t know about you, but whenever I talk to a birder with decades of experience I leave the conversation with two feelings. First: admiration, for their ability to confidently identify any species by call or the slightest glimpse. This feeling is surpassed, however, by the disappointment at realising I may never reach their levelContinue reading “Advice from a not so Expert Birder, a guest post by Liam Thompson”
Glossy Ibis and more
Spring has sprung, at long last. And all about my local area, the sapphire blooms of English bluebell mingle with the garish, Simpson-yellow of lesser celandine and the pristine white of flowering wood anemone. The air encompassing them ripe with the stench of ramsons carried on the breeze and nearby waterways – the ponds, streamsContinue reading “Glossy Ibis and more”
Top 10 Facts: Willow Tit
Late discovery. The Willow Tit and the much more abundant Marsh tit are incredibly difficult to tell apart, even by professional birders. They are so similar, in fact, that they were once mistakenly believed to be a single species. Indeed, the Willow Tit was the last regular British breeding bird to be identified – onlyContinue reading “Top 10 Facts: Willow Tit”
RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch – My Results
There is still time this weekend to take part in the RSPB’s annual Big Garden Birdwatch – a fabulous (and fun) scheme which contributes greatly to the knowledge surrounding our garden birds. Highlighting current trends, increases, decreases and eruptions in avian populations through the power of citizen science. To take part, you only need aContinue reading “RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch – My Results”
Birding in Northumberland 2017: the highlights
Now, this is a post for the avian-inclined individuals out there… For those of you who didn’t know, I set myself a challenge at the start of 2017. One which would see me attempt to glimpse as many bird species as possible in my home county over the course of a single year. No easyContinue reading “Birding in Northumberland 2017: the highlights”
Birders Behaving Badly
By large, birders are a nice bunch and bad behaviour and poor etiquette among devotees is, thankfully, rather scarce – though this does not mean it does not occur. Many of those boasting a penchant for the hobby will have witnessed such behaviour, the practice of tape luring birds during the breeding season for example,Continue reading “Birders Behaving Badly”
Here’s why I, personally, watch birds
My attention was recently drawn to an interesting article authored for The Conversation by the esteemed and eloquent Dr Robert Lambert. Centred on the logic behind birding (or twitching, if you prefer), I found the piece highly interesting, both as a birder who spends a great deal of his time observing our feathered friends and as anContinue reading “Here’s why I, personally, watch birds”
Top 10 Facts: The Tawny Owl
I heard a Tawny Owl last night. A nocturnal foray to my local store interrupted by an eerie, frightfully abrupt, yet oddly soothing shriek from the branches of a Sycamore in the local churchyard. A sound which I hear often, both in the countryside and closer to home, amid the houses of Bedlington, that neverContinue reading “Top 10 Facts: The Tawny Owl”
The Decline of the Yellowhammer in the UK
Last week I posted an article regarding the woeful decline of one of my favourite garden birds: the Willow Tit. This seemed to go down rather well and many of you claimed to have learnt a thing or two from it. As such, I thought I would cover another species with an equally solemn story,Continue reading “The Decline of the Yellowhammer in the UK”