Birds!

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What pleasant and interesting bird sightings have you had lately? Whether it's something rare glimpsed through binoculars miles away from civilisation, or just a random sparrow that cheered you up a bit, I'd like to hear about it. Especially as we've got people here from several continents, so even the "ordinary" birds are unusual to some of us.

Today I saw a single black-headed gull foraging on someone's lawn, and a heron flying over the lake. Pretty good day.

We have a pair of pileated woodpeckers living in our woods, and from time to time they come into our garden to give us a really good look at them. If you're not familiar with them, look them up. Absolutely stunning creatures.

Red Kites hunting in the field behind me and calling quite often. There is also the time when I was out there playing fetch with dog V4 and one hovering abouth four feet over my head watching me. I think it was hoping i would go and drive something out that it could eat. The nearest I get to hunting is raiding the fride so it would be out of luck anyway.

Sometimes get owls in summer and I had a conversation with one; I made a clicking noise and it woo'd back...fun evening that was!

Years ago you could only see them in one place but the breeding programme ( helped by the S.A.S ) has been an enormous success.

Black-bellied whistling ducks flying overhead.

A pair of Great Crested Grebes (Podiceps cristatus) which, having raised one brood this year, are just starting on their second.

The last of the tern chicks finally fledging. The Sandwich Terns (Sterna sandvicensis) have now all left the island where they nest but plenty of juveniles can still be seen on the local beaches. The last Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) chick fledged a few days ago.

The return of the waders/shorebirds from their breeding grounds has started as they either pass through on migration or start to gather into the large flocks that will spend the winter here.

barnswallows crisscrossing above the mowed trails, then i hit a hornet nest in the ground, do swallows eat hornets, idk?
but the birds seemed energized,
yesterday a bird of prey had an eye on something and waited patiently nearby

idk english for this;

something like that but the tractor's like this

Hitting a nest of hornets mowing!!

Indigo buntings,Redbirds and Goldfinches are all out in the garden.The Crows had a nursery nearby and I got to listen to the young ones learning to caw.They aren’t very good at first and it sounds like the older ones are scolding them.

A whole flock of black-headed gulls. Wierdly, they were still in winter plumage- the black reduced to a couple of spots on the sides of their heads. A few were just starting to turn. I wonder if they've been somewhere with freak cold weather the last few months?

Photographed this bird at Sennen Cove, Cornwall(not sure exactly what type he is ...)...


A friend who lives in Crow’s Nest, Australia photographed this friendly kookaburra this past week ...

Saw some grey herons out and about the other day.



On my way to work theres a great cormorant that hangs out, plus a breeding pair of mute swans.

Juvenile Herring Gull. "He" could be either male or female.

They should be moulting out of their breeding (summer) plumage into their winter plumage now. The black (brown really) heads are only carried during the breeding season which is largely over. In the UK most start their moult from late May to late July so many will be back in full winter plumage already.

I don't know exactly what type of bird they are, but these finch-like birds keep landing very close to me while I'm doing yard work and other stuff outside. They're cute, it's nice to watch them and to see them up close since my eyesight isn't amazing.

Aha, so it's "already", not "still"....

A goldfinch and a cardinal