Saturday 31 May 2008

ogden

not much there this morning
a grebe sitting on the lake
chiff-chaff heard in the wood

sparrows taking a dust bath outside my house this afternoon
left when i came with the camera (typical)

Friday 30 May 2008

scotland holiday-last day

threave gardens:
one of the best birdwatching sites ever in my oppinion. not as good as last time when there were wood warblers and spotted flycatchers

female siskin

greater spotted woodpecker

chaffinch at restaurant

blackbird at restaurant

nuthatch on feeder in the hide



woodpecker video
also seen were
blue tit
coal tit
great tit
chaffinch
greenfinch
willow warblers
roe deer

scotland holiday-day 4

wigtown local nature reserve:
back again

lapwing which my dad drove past
no violent dabchick
2 shoveler
2 reed bunting
1 peregrine
1 sedge warbler
plus the usual
appart from the dab chik this was the most amazing part of my holiday-i was standing on a rock trying to get photos of some swift which were flying less that a meter away. i had just atempted to take shot and was looking at my camera screem froma mere 30cm away from my haed and a swift flew between my head and the camera-wow

isle of witon:

a beach next to a seaside harbour. wether=bad


sandwhich tern diving for fish

rock pipit on rock

scotland holiday-day 3

logan botanical gardens:
scotlands largest garden for tropical plants. because of the gulf stream many tropical plants can be grown here. this did affect the wildlife in a way but there were some briliant photo oppertuneties.

chaffinch that walked right past me



red legged partridge-really close but not as tame as the chaffinch

mull of galloway-RSPB
have been before but the visitor center wasnt running. now it was so we all had a nice lunch. it had much improved since the last time especially the wildlife. last time it was just kittywakes and stonechats and guillemots but this time there was

poor male linnet shot
1 twite only my second
3 mipits
2 wheatear
2 rock pipits

2 black guillemots
2 common gullemots
infinate razorbills
2 puffins
infinate gannets
2 hourbour porpoise
perched male peregrine-absolutely amazing
5 manx shearwater
infinate kittywakes
infinate herring gulls
infinate greater black-backed gull
infinate shags
infinate cormornat
raven

port logan:
sandy beach with rocks at either end
10 ringed plovers
2 sandwhich tern
been snorkeling here before and seen cuckoo wrasse but today the wether was apauling

scotland holiday-day 2

campsite:
wheatear
swallow
chaffinch
pied wagtail
house martin

castle kennedy gardens:
a nice botanical garden with 2 lochs at either side and a big pond in the middle. big forests are all over the place but not necceseraly of british trees

4 spot chaser by the pond.
birds were insignificant as there wernt that many
great creasted grebe
2 tufted ducks
2 pheasants.

none birds were
10 smooth newts
2 giant leechs
2 giant dragonfly lava-one of which was determined to kill and eat a stick
numerous damselflies of the blue and azure variety
1 orange tip butterfly

potpatrick:
a hourbour surrounded by walls except for a exit/entarance. away fromthe hourbour is a cliff top walk and a rocky beach



stonechat on the clifftop walk
20 ish fulmar nests
mother and baby rock pipit
oystercatcher
shag

scotland holiday-day one (dumfreis and galloway)

campsite:
we camped at a CL site for a change. however this means that there is more wildlife. this time it was a farm with a stream and a big barn where birds could nest.


house martin nests.
also of interest were:
wheatear-lone male sat on fence
swallow nest in the barn
pair of mallards
pied wagtail

port william:
a beach next to a small coastal town. it was very rocky and this provided the perfect habitat for many birds
3 sanderlings
4 oystercatcher
2 gannets
4 cormorants
greater black-backed gull
herring gull

stairhaven:
a quiet little seaside town with a rocky beach and a river running it to it. rocks on the beach were used by the birds and the grass and shingle offered a breeding sanctuary. seen were:


oystercatcher pair

ringed plover that wouldnt give up cheeping as we were close to its nest
3 sandwhich tern
2 shelduck
3 rock pipit
1 painted lady butterfly

wigtown local nature reserve:
a large area of unopen water dotted with islands. birds are common here with any speices including a garganey which we missed by 3 days :(

shoveler
2 redshank
sedge warbler
3 sand martin
2 hero
4 mipits
2 starlings
infinate black headed gulls
pet swans
sparrow
also of interest was a dabchick on its nest. a comorant was fishing in the area of water near the nest , looking for fish. it came too close to the nest and the dabchick tarted to pick on this cormorant. it was amazing becaus ethe dabchick was so small but it won the fight easily.



Thursday 22 May 2008

cats

anti-neighbourghhood cat shcemes developed by the haliax guys
Nick Carter said...
Try petrol and a match.
5:15 PM
AndyC said...
Catapults are very good.
5:37 PM
BSUMNER said...
If you know the owners approach them with the situation and ask them if they,ll put a bell on the cats collar. Failing that resort back to nick carters idea.
6:00 PM
Matt Bell said...
Try one of those super soaker monster water pistol things. Their face is a picture if you hit them right, and they stay away for a while.
7:29 PM
Andrew Huyton said...
buy a cheap but very effective paint ball gun, they hurt like hell when they hit you and it will put a smile on your face especially if you buy multi coloured paint balls, go paint a masterpiece.Less violent is lion manure or one of those electronic cat scarers.
sorry nick

Sunday 11 May 2008

keithly

went today after going to stockbridge
saw the peregrine nest
saw 1 pregrine

stockbridge nature reserve

joined the b.o.g today at stockbridge
seen:
1 sedge warbler that wouldnt shut up
briliant views through the scope
numerous whitethroats-my first
one was only 2 m away
1 oystercatcher
1 reed bunting
geese, ducks
sand martins
were swooping down over the pond

Monday 5 May 2008

fly flatts

fly flatts for half an hour this morning:
3 twite-my first, i didnt realise how small they were
2 redshank
3 curlew
4 graylag geese
12 canada geese
2 mallards
12 mipits
1 skylark, although many were heard in the background
2 grouse heard calling

Sunday 4 May 2008

soil hill

1 lrp
and the usual suspects
plus a dozen wheatear =)

my garden

2 linnets seen this morning
1 stock dove =) a first for the garden

others of note:
pair greenfinch
1 male chaffinch
2 blackbirds
3 starlings
9 sparrows playing chicken on the road