Monthly Archives: August 2010

Collared Flycatcher Part 1

Posted on August 30, 2010 by

Great ID Challenge! Not sure that the British list has an acceptable 1st autumn Collared Flycatcher, Enter: todays bird at Spurn. Readers will hopefully  understand the enormity and potential complexity of such a claim.  With wing length only in range of Collared and too … Continue reading →

Posted in Flycatchers | 18 Comments

Britain’s Best Barred Warbler Spot?

Posted on August 28, 2010 by

How they normally appear (or not) in the field This is presumably Barred Warbler no. 3 (from yesterday), having moved from hedges just along the canal zone, into the sheltered vegetation at Kew (Spurn) this morning. A very early Firecrest … Continue reading →

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Barred Warbler – in hand photo

Posted on August 27, 2010 by

Barred Warbler – a 3 bird day NEWS: see updates re Gull Masterclass days:  http://birdingfrontiers.com/talks/ and Talks programme this winter: http://birdingfrontiers.com/talks/ Early evening saw my along the canal zone for a seemingly 3rd Barred Warbler sitting out, sporadically, in sunshine … Continue reading →

Posted in Warblers | 3 Comments

Guillemot

Posted on August 27, 2010 by

Bush Birds After all these years, the classic ‘drift migrants’ still give me great delight. Plenty of them seen at Spurn today. I was not disappointed with my search of the ‘wire dump’ area this morning. The autumn Bush Birds were there. Pied Flycatcher, … Continue reading →

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Spotted Redshank

Posted on August 26, 2010 by

They look a lot easier in the field guide! Plenty of shorebirds/ waders around. Last few days the main feature of visible migration past the caravan are these pied stunners. Presumably these are heading south, from more northerly breeding grounds such as Scandinavia and Iceland. While their plumage and call is … Continue reading →

Posted in Shorebirds | 4 Comments

Celebration of Birds

Posted on August 25, 2010 by

Spurn late August 2010 What the heck – no theme here just a celebration of waders, and wagtails, terns and warblers. Birds have such fantastic variety. They do so many different things. Even when the bushes aren’t rarity hopping and popping – how can you be bored?! A … Continue reading →

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Yellow-legged Gull

Posted on August 24, 2010 by

Identifying a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull 24th August 2010 Spurn, East Yorkshire OK , here’s how the juvenile Yellow-legged Gull was identified. Health warning-there are no long-winded explanations of every feather or caveats-everywhere kind of texts – its just rough and raw. … Continue reading →

Posted in Gulls, Terns | 5 Comments

Paddyfield Warbler

Posted on August 23, 2010 by

Acro Agro or… Shetland’s Paddyfield Colony? see here for a seemingly different bird at the same site, earlier this month: http://www.shetlandnature.net/2010/08/10/paddyfield-warbler-a-jammy-start-to-the-autumn/ Found yesterday by intrepid Rory T (also of Burrafirth Syke’s fame), poor views and a less than striking example of the species, has caused considerable consternation. Mike … Continue reading →

Posted in Warblers | 2 Comments

Sedge Warbler

Posted on August 23, 2010 by

One tiny feather Anyone cringe a little at the one-legged lump of protein and fat near the bottom of this post? http://birdingfrontiers.com/2010/08/15/icterine-warbler-and-citrine-wagtail/ I don’t think I want to reproduce it. I certainly never really considered it identifiable. However hawk eyes … Continue reading →

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Advanced Birding ID Guide

Posted on August 21, 2010 by

Hey Nils – you are my current reading! Very enjoyable day at Birdfair today. Nice to see Nils van Duivendijk again. we have worked together on some identification things, notably Steppe Buzzard. Very pleased his book is doing so well … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment