tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45691962152357101832024-03-14T03:26:29.885-07:00The Circle JerksFive birders thrash their local shrubbery for a whole year, to little real effect. One of them does it using a camel, but none of them is into cars....Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger141125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4569196215235710183.post-18349898996928334552012-12-13T10:03:00.003-08:002012-12-13T10:03:51.247-08:00Time<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’m sacking off now. International duty calls for the next
three weeks so I have to throw the towel in early. Very reluctantly as you can
imagine. Normally we’d have another week to run but they decided that a two
week holiday wasn’t enough this Christmas so off we go. No flourishing finale,
but a nice full circle loop with two <b>Buff-bellied
Pipits</b> showing very nicely at Emirate’s Palace tonight bringing us right
back to where we pretty much started on January 10<sup>th</sup>. Presumably the
same birds and easy to find with only 3 <b>Water
Pips</b> to hide amongst. Winter birding out here can be pretty much like that –just
two <b>shrikes</b> today, but one was <b>Masked</b>, two <b><i>Phyllos</i></b> but one being <b>Hume’s</b> and a glimpse of the same <b>Robin</b> despite, still, a near general
dearth of Song Thrush or Black Redstarts. A last desperate attempt was made for
Starling yesterday to no avail and a hazy, distant glimpse of a presumed
Spotted Eagle a few weeks back is now fully consigned to the gruelling near-miss
bin, along with that feckin’ Dusky Warbler. Pacific Golden Plover, Glossy Ibis,
Egyptian Nightjar, Streaked Weaver, Wood and Garden Warblers complete the list
of targets not found, with the former letting me down for, I think, the first
year ever. All the rest are fairly unreliable, presumably especially when you
really need them and, anyway, there were plenty of stand-ins, including seven
new birds on the island for me to take their place. Mind you, I guess it was my
stupid fault not deviate off wheatear alley for 400m one afternoon back in
March for Steve’s Pale Rockfinches. Good luck Nick; by my back-of-an-envelope
calculation you need 172 to call this a tie. Would be a fitting ending, but I
then guess we could then go with % self-found if you want to split hairs at the
end. To save you reading through the whole blog again, my deficiencies are Robin
and Blyth’s and Olive-backed Pipits (98.5%) which we could weigh up against
your moral victory anyway…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Simon, don’t be telling us that this gives you an idea for
next year…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Final total</i></b>- 196 (109%)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Last additions</i></b> – Olive-backed Pipit (23<sup>rd</sup> November),
Eurasian Scops-Owl (28<sup>th</sup> November) and Eurasian Wigeon (5th
December)</span></div>
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OSCARhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08429212779100325647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4569196215235710183.post-48898584082270132662012-12-09T04:07:00.000-08:002012-12-09T04:07:15.139-08:00Back in the field - and five species added!Embarrassingly, a check back through the list revealed two "easy" species which I saw back in the summer which I forgot to add to my NMYL - <b>Sedge Warbler</b> (146) and <b>Common Sandpiper </b>(147). Oops....<br />
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More impressively, I have three new species to add, all of them of at least some quality.<br />
<br />
First up, I added a species not only to the NMYL but also the (and I say it myself) impressive garden list last weekend, when a <b>Merlin </b>(148, and 108 for the garden - cool!) flashed through at the back of the garden, scattering passerines in all directions.<br />
<br />
Yesterday, I pedalled just 3km down the road to the flood just south of Ringwood, adding <b>Glossy Ibis</b> (149) to the list at Bickerley Common, along with the regular local Great White Egret! Positively Donana-eque. In fact, I manouevred myself into a spot where I could get the Ibis, the GWE, Little Egret and Goosander in the same field of view - and then a Kingfisher flew through to put a cherry on top!<br />
<br />
And today, a short walk to Snails Lake turned up the male <b>Red-crested Pochard</b> (150) which was found there yesterday, plus two Green Sands and yet another stunning Kingfisher. Nice work.<br />
<br />
Lazy bastard that I am, I <i>drove</i> for the White-rumped Sandpiper at Longham Lakes last weekend, and while it's still there this weekend, I simply haven't got the time to spend three hours pedalling over there and back....lightweight.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4569196215235710183.post-23984504128051614412012-12-06T05:57:00.002-08:002012-12-06T05:57:44.546-08:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Helter Skelter<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That is what it has felt like in the last few weeks. The
longest and most prolific glut of rarity arrivals I can remember here in the
UAE is still ongoing, and earning a decent slice of the action hasn’t been too
hard – all that’s been needed is to get out birding. Albeit mostly off island, and therein lies the issue. Not only have I been not finding anything
fittingly monster locally despite hard grafting (and one very near miss), I am
also been lured elsewhere to try my luck further afield, so reducing my time
trying here. As a result, Common Starling is now looking very dicey and neither
even Taiga Fly or Shikra (two of each far flung elsewhere recently and either a
fitting placeholder for my AD 250th!) seem a shoo-in anymore. Hence a little
more undignified twitching has been unavoidable, resulting in, after two
attempts and much suffering, an ultra-elusive, willow-the-wisp <b>Olive-backed Pipit</b> crawling around
under thick hedges (as, consequently, were its would-be observers). Still,
these are cracking birds and despite being one that I hit almost annually somewhere
in the UAE, in my book total show-stoppers so and so well worth chasing. And
all that is quite apart from the fact that it was also my third new pipit on
the island this year. Whilst chasing the pip, a <b>Hume’s Warbler</b> starting calling merrily and was soon giving great
views (so another semi-hole now filled fully; the one back in March was
technically a twitch as I was 20 minutes behind the pace that day) and, on a
similar theme a few days later, I heard <b>Red-breasted
Flycatcher</b> calling whilst out jogging pre-work. It took me a couple of
visits to actually see it but, fired up by its discovery I trawled the island
that afternoon to find my latest ever bloody <b>Tree Pipit</b> (i.e. it really should have been my own OBP) and, later,
a species that that, whilst a target, I had long abandoned any hope of getting
anywhere near at all – <b>Scops-Owl</b>!
This was only my 7<sup>th</sup> in the UAE ever and came as a real bolt out of
the blue, suddenly appearing as I investigated a frenetic mobbing party,
expecting to find the no more than the usual malignant moggie.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So that was the next wave, but the subsequent trough was
deeper than usual. Another 6AM start and another four hours of
ultra-professional bush-kicking out on Lulu two days later looked like being
the usual tale – some nice birds but nothing to get anyone cursing. Until, that
is, my second pass of the lake produced a deliberate soft tekking, again and
again. Everything was right – it was 30<sup>th</sup> November, rares were
pitching in everywhere, the habitat was textbook (dense low bushes right
alongside standing water) and the call was spot on. Unfortunately, so was the
behaviour – two hours later, along a mere 50m of vegetation no amount of gentle
imitation, enthusiastic pishing, patient waiting, restrained bush-juddering and
ultimately violent thrashing made a blind bit of difference. Dusky Warbler, for
that is what it surely was, avoided hitting the back of the net (although it
glanced the crossbar once). By the end of all that, over an hour later than
promised, I had to leave. However, I guess I achieved one of my regular objectives
on each trip out here – there <b>was</b>
one person cursing profanely…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Two <b>Wigeon</b> a few days later hardly seemed to count, despite being as
statistically rare as Dusky Warbler at least in my experience, over the last
five years here. Which would you rather have seen? Yep, me too. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finally, and more predictably, the usual late autumn back-up
case has not been too bad either, with plenty of <b>Hypocolius </b>available on tap, up to three <b>Oriental Honey-Buzzards</b> now in and appearing regularly and the
first <b>Pallas’s Gulls</b> suddenly
widespread from late in November.<a href="" name="_GoBack"></a> But with the latter
settled back in, it’s nearly time to call Time, at least from my end.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Total so far</i></b> - 196 (109%)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Last additions</i></b> – Olive-backed Pipit (23<sup>rd</sup> November),
Eurasian Scops-Owl (28<sup>th</sup> November) and Eurasian Wigeon (5th December)</span></div>
</div>
OSCARhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08429212779100325647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4569196215235710183.post-72703735802132762712012-12-02T13:05:00.001-08:002012-12-20T04:13:00.537-08:00Spinning Around5 hours of scrub clearance at the <a href="http://www.bto.org/reserve">Nunnery Lakes</a> this morning failed to yield the hoped-for fly-over Peregrine, or any other outside chances of an addition to the list. 4 Waxwings did fly over instead but unfortunately they chose to do so when we were wielding loppers rather than bins, resulting in less-than-satisfactory views.<br />
<br />
As I wandered, daydreaming, back home in the stunning afternoon light, a phone call from Pete Wilson suddenly shook me into action: he was watching a <i>Grey Phalarope</i> at Livermere!! I believe the phrase is 'Shit the bed!'. It was 2:23pm. I was 15 minutes walk from home, 35 minutes pedal from Livermere. Factoring in 'Lycra-donning' time, I knew this was going to be close! At least it was sunny, so I'd have until 4ish.<br />
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Fortunately the morning's exertions - and the run home - meant I was warm enough to face the 15mph windchill factor on a day when the frost still hadn't melted by mid afternoon, and I was at Livermere by just after 3:30pm without getting frostbite. Better still, the <b>Grey Phalarope</b> (167) was performing swimmingly, spinning like a whirling dervish in a circle no bigger than a dinner plate. Awesome!<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wJObyj31S2w/ULxylEILQrI/AAAAAAAAAGE/CacRN1pYWIk/s1600/gphal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="219" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wJObyj31S2w/ULxylEILQrI/AAAAAAAAAGE/CacRN1pYWIk/s320/gphal.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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More phonescoping magic... this time courtesy of <a href="http://necrosadisticapathynullification.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/shoot-shoot-shoot.html">Jonny Rankin</a></div>
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Operating on the descretion/valour principle, I decided to leave before 'last knockings' at the gull roost. Saddling up was interrupted by a shout from Jonny though, and - bang! - <b>Peregrine</b> (168) was on the list, at long last!<br />
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The ride home was second only to <a href="http://thecirclejerks.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/frostbite.html">this one</a> in coldness - if any local birders (or anyone else) saw me standing by the roadside trying to warm my hands by shoving them down my cycling shorts, I can only apologise.<br />
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ps A little more eclectic musical reference in the post title than some of the offerings we've had this year, though I guess one or two Jerkers may have to Google it!<br />
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<i>Percentage of target to date - </i><b><u>108%</u></b></div>
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<i>Distance cycled -</i><b> </b>646.2mls / 1,040.0km</div>
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<i>Latest addition - </i> Peregrine (168) 2 December</div>
Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02381178730802945807noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4569196215235710183.post-48405241085368672452012-11-13T10:01:00.000-08:002012-11-13T10:10:50.465-08:00Echoes (a.k.a. Pulling Teeth)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So October came and went, without
too much to show for it, unless you count a little flush of quackers that
started with </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shoveler</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, exactly as
predicted last time round (but only my third on the island and my first
addition in 23 days) and culminated in two </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ferruginous
Ducks</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> along with a grubby </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pochard</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">,
arriving next day and still present at the time of writing. That latter appears
to be the first island record, as far as I can ascertain, and hence rarer than
Little Crake, if you take the parochial view. By any standards, November has
somewhat stumbled along too, and, despite some great birding and significant
finds to be made elsewhere in the country, most of it has passed us by here. So
desperate have times become that I am now reduced to having to go chase other
people’s birds, but, with seemingly half the BTO breathing down my neck, I can’t
be complacent. Hence I sent Steve out to work his magic on Sunday and followed
in his slipstream once I could make an early get-away today: I didn’t need his
Hume’s Warbler thanks to<a href="http://www.thecirclejerks.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/better-stonechat.html"> this</a> (which was a good job, as I failed this time
round) so could concentrate on a recalcitrant and grouchy </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Red-breasted Flycatcher</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> (at last – was starting to think I was
cutting it fine on that one) and, miles better, a wicked </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Robin</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> that, after a lot of teasing, eventually came out to the tape
and showed brilliantly. And was still singing half an hour later when I went
back through again. This will hardly seem ground breaking if you are based in
the New Forest or Norfolk but out here Robins are ethereal, very scarce and
near-invisible chats and, being pale, grey-tinged eastern birds, not bad
looking either once you finally get to grips with one. My last on AD was September
2008, and I’ve only seen two others elsewhere in the country since. The last
was one I found last December in the west, then twitched by Steve for his year
list this January, so some sort of faintly resonating justice there in the end.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I guess 20 <b>Hypocolius</b> aren’t too be sniffed at either, and other decent local
records have included a few more <b>Spoonbills</b>,
another <b>Pintail</b>, <b>Night Heron</b> again (more this year than
ever, by some margin), a few late-running <b>Tree
Pipits</b> and the first <b>stonechats</b>
and <b>Daurian Shrikes</b> back with
aplomb.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Total so far</i></b> - 193 (107%)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Last additions</i></b> – Red-breasted Flycatcher and European Robin (13<sup>th</sup>
November)</span></div>
</div>
OSCARhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08429212779100325647noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4569196215235710183.post-4971894142305987112012-11-13T02:53:00.001-08:002012-12-20T04:13:59.977-08:00Waxwing lyricalWhilst out dirty carbon twitching (or dipping, more to the point) on Saturday, I got the inevitable call that there was a patch tick on my doorstep. Abandoning a frankly impossible American Golden Plover somewhere in darkest Cambridgeshire, I was back home in time to jump on the bike, pedal a couple of miles and enjoy 4 fine <b>Waxwing </b>(166), before they disappeared off into the setting sun.<br />
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<i>Percentage of target to date - </i><b><u>107%</u></b></div>
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<i>Distance cycled -</i><b> </b>629.5mls / 1,013.1km</div>
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<i>Latest addition - </i> Waxwing (166) 10 November</div>
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Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02381178730802945807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4569196215235710183.post-85709531137805210652012-11-07T02:57:00.003-08:002012-12-20T04:13:33.643-08:00Dipper for breakfastLate autumn has already outstripped early autumn by some margin in the Brecks, as my last 3 posts (and a Dusky Warbler for a very lucky few) show. In the last 24 hours things have got even better. Mid afternoon yesterday, a civilian* but 'countryside savvy' colleague presented a photo of a Dipper he'd taken on his iPhone 915m from my office a couple of hours earlier... without fully appreciating the significance of it! An immediate evacuation followed but the 7 of us who spent our coffee break along the river dipped.<br />
<br />
Dawn Balmer and I took our stations at 6:45am this morning... and to my great relief, a dapper Black-bellied <b>Dipper</b> (165) appeared at 7:10am. Several BTO birders saw it over the next 30 minutes, including Mike Toms, who has kindly allowed me to post one of his pics (taken at the last place I saw it, about 200m southwest of Melford Bridge):<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EPSzCQLaFc4/UJo8Y0HGN7I/AAAAAAAAAFs/DtPqs7VYej8/s1600/dipper_miketoms.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EPSzCQLaFc4/UJo8Y0HGN7I/AAAAAAAAAFs/DtPqs7VYej8/s320/dipper_miketoms.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Not</i> dipped!</div>
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<br /></div>
Attempts to keep tabs on it were thwarted by a great show from the local otter(s) - thanks to <a href="http://www.neilcalbrade.co.uk/">Neil Calbrade</a> for this one!<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NF0IvMJ1dMw/UJo91df2k1I/AAAAAAAAAF0/msiO5DwkzXI/s1600/Nunnery+Otter+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NF0IvMJ1dMw/UJo91df2k1I/AAAAAAAAAF0/msiO5DwkzXI/s320/Nunnery+Otter+(2).jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Normally the highlight of a walk along the Thet</div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">*There are 2 types of humans: birders and civilians. One type appreciates the significance of a Dipper in Thetford. The other doesn't.</span><br />
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<i>Percentage of target to date - </i><b><u>106%</u></b></div>
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<i>Distance cycled -</i><b> </b>595.5mls / 958.4km</div>
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<i>Latest addition - </i> Dipper (165) 7 November</div>
Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02381178730802945807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4569196215235710183.post-3257225218256485552012-11-05T04:39:00.001-08:002012-12-20T04:15:18.722-08:00Snow rest<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Sunday was a day to stay inside: grim weather and an even grimmer D&V bug I'd picked up from my nephew during half-term hols in Cornwall. So it was that I was languishing in my sick bed at 11am when a text alerted me to a serious sighting reported on the local news group the previous evenin<span style="font-family: inherit;">g: a male Snow Bunting less than 6 miles away! Cycling <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;">– in the driving rain </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;">– in the state I was in was out of the question, though I did manage to drag myself out of bed and drive over to see it. </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF3fc1H6l1QSCMLjBiwLIrlbUVUpZSXtlz_zSXpVw7ydRfAvoNsV8wEYb3Pru-3JWD_P9NjBM_l-cbzO4k1T4rrbLxSa-i0Y2GT2zcdKO84nSLeYtAZWP0CBfcPt78TtVf7vwUyJtxQaE9/s1600/SB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF3fc1H6l1QSCMLjBiwLIrlbUVUpZSXtlz_zSXpVw7ydRfAvoNsV8wEYb3Pru-3JWD_P9NjBM_l-cbzO4k1T4rrbLxSa-i0Y2GT2zcdKO84nSLeYtAZWP0CBfcPt78TtVf7vwUyJtxQaE9/s320/SB.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Snow Bunting in classic puddle-in-beet-field habitat</div>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;">This morning, after a couple of Panadol to quell the lingering light-headedness, I set off on the bike. It was a spectacular autumn morning and the 16.8 miles weren't too bad, all things considered. The return leg was particularly easy, given that <b>Snow Bunting</b> (164) was now safely OML! </span><br />
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<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Droid Sans'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<i>Percentage of target to date - </i><b><u>106%</u></b></div>
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<i>Distance cycled -</i><b> </b>593.3mls / 954.8km</div>
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<i>Latest addition - </i> Snow Bunting (164) 5 November</div>
Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02381178730802945807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4569196215235710183.post-14166694481596569422012-10-22T14:10:00.001-07:002012-12-20T04:17:31.854-08:00Ditto<div>
Black gold. Again! This time rolled into one bird... a drake <b>Common Scoter</b> (163)!!! I'm never normally one for multiple explanation marks but if you've ever birded the Nunnery Lakes, you'll appreciate that it is no Grafham Water: a true seaduck here is mega! As my typically bad luck would have it, I was 10 minutes into a lunch-break-ruining meeting with several 'externals' when the text came through from Neil Calbrade. A whole four nerve-wracking hours later (no thanks to the "<i>It's looking flighty</i>" text from another Lakes listing colleague!), and as the gloom rapidly descended, I hurtled down to the lakes, where the boy was still in residence. Wot a burd!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRrd439eMh9Y6yWCXhC3TK5L2KurpqeZ6ID_2s6wN02btTlzzMgLZ1Z9jPGPQ8jsDgCNQy06Ki-WXtu-o9vR_qSkZlvDhjAkgZ-XtIZAL4hIqZAkORI1QsuffKMvW68wI4RxRXU3UOIog2/s1600/CX.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRrd439eMh9Y6yWCXhC3TK5L2KurpqeZ6ID_2s6wN02btTlzzMgLZ1Z9jPGPQ8jsDgCNQy06Ki-WXtu-o9vR_qSkZlvDhjAkgZ-XtIZAL4hIqZAkORI1QsuffKMvW68wI4RxRXU3UOIog2/s320/CX.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Patch magic<br />
(still present 24 October, still gloomy)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGkGj-n7LVnqGw9vJl_Xx0aWHFQWeGZzEOUf37fZ9XVanaIZiXMEGlstaI93lLMYuncOdsSlVndBwBsHmWq8cxt5G73WsxPwHCAYJ14BaEDKm_6Vd-0iMG9GXQzdbKWUM64P9zlLttXrnq/s1600/CX.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGkGj-n7LVnqGw9vJl_Xx0aWHFQWeGZzEOUf37fZ9XVanaIZiXMEGlstaI93lLMYuncOdsSlVndBwBsHmWq8cxt5G73WsxPwHCAYJ14BaEDKm_6Vd-0iMG9GXQzdbKWUM64P9zlLttXrnq/s320/CX.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">(still present 25 October, less gloomy...)</span></div>
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<i>Percentage of target to date - </i><b><u>105%</u></b></div>
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<i>Distance cycled -</i><b> </b>576.5mls / 927.8km</div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Droid Sans'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<i>Latest addition - </i> Common Scoter (163) 22 October</div>
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Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02381178730802945807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4569196215235710183.post-18837544173412551662012-10-19T13:15:00.003-07:002012-12-20T04:16:50.391-08:00Black GoldSeptember may be a great time to be birding on the coast but it's a different story inland, particularly in 'passage wader habitat impoverished' areas like the Brecks <span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;">–</span> as you can see from the flat-lining species accumulation that both <a href="http://btovrspbbirdtrackchallenge2011.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/all-important-results-are-in.html"><b>TEAL Cup</b></a> teams experienced last September. October, on the other hand, seems to bring interest even 45 miles from the nearest coastal migration hotspot...<br />
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First up, news on the local forum of a returning shoo-in on the recently sown arable of West Suffolk. A carbon reccy on a wet Tuesday morning, and a Thursday afternoon off later, and <b>Golden Plover</b> (161) was belatedly on the bike list.<br />
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Better still, and with a bit more help from my friends, a typically animated <b>Black Redstart</b> (162), in classic Black Redstart habitat. BTO Nunnery Lakes warden Chris Gregory found it <span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;">— </span>an unappealing 24 mile round trip away <span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;">—</span> on Sunday, and I dirty-carbon-twitched (and phonescoped) it a few hours later. 33 miles in the saddle on Thursday, however, saw it safely on the only list that <i>really</i> counts!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9bOyDXhUgxwcMDeghAz1iAZfWm63oiZR19OeQVikebipnOePjlRjO7ubMvYXbwOOT_1wV0_d-N8ylqYoyuaHgxnFkYv6eucErDupnvA7oAO44RrNUHMuu0E8pdMd85qDhO5epd16HFbPH/s1600/BX.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9bOyDXhUgxwcMDeghAz1iAZfWm63oiZR19OeQVikebipnOePjlRjO7ubMvYXbwOOT_1wV0_d-N8ylqYoyuaHgxnFkYv6eucErDupnvA7oAO44RrNUHMuu0E8pdMd85qDhO5epd16HFbPH/s320/BX.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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More phonescoping magic</div>
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<br />
Other rewards for my efforts included my latest-ever <b>Stone-curlew </b>(4), an I-can't-see-you-so-you-can't-see-me <b>Little Owl</b>,<b> </b>and the first <b>Fieldfare</b> of the autumn.</div>
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<i>Percentage of target to date - </i><b><u>105%</u></b></div>
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<i>Distance cycled -</i><b> </b>575.5mls / 926.2km</div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Droid Sans'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<i>Latest addition - </i> Black Redstart (162) 18 October</div>
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Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02381178730802945807noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4569196215235710183.post-92089492855972170682012-10-17T11:40:00.003-07:002012-10-19T13:48:52.051-07:00Suspect device<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I get really fed up with </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Acrocephali</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. It’s not that they scare me
(the effect they have on most sensible and well-balanced people); I actually
quite like pitting my wits against them and have hit the net a couple of times
during my time in the Middle East. However, they are an unremitting, inevitable
and literal pain in the neck here on Abu Dhabi island. With practically no
ground cover of any quality whatsoever, any self-respecting (or hungry) warbler
is shurely to be found 20 feet up in the Ghaf trees and that means you are
always going to struggle; finding one does little more than give you a sinking
pit in your stomach. And this was the case with my only small Acro so far this
autumn; picked up yesterday, it had me straining and cursing as I tried and
failed to piece together views beyond a seemingly longish thin bill running off
the end of a decent (for an Acro) supercilium, unsettlingly colourless
underparts and a wispy, flattened general shape. Not a hope of primary
projection, remex edges, tertials or emarginations on this one and so
predictably all I had to show was severe warbler neck and a stubbed toe on a
thorn, to remind me that I still had feet (not having seen them for 30
minutes). </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Menetries’s</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Olly</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Chiffy</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> all materialised and gave killer views in that same tree,
but not a bit of what I was really after.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Equally boring and featureless, yet
much, much easier, we have also had a decent, early arrival of <b>Plain Leaf-Warblers</b>. I am now on six
for AD this October; we always get a few autumn birds that cross the Gulf and
hit the coast instead of the mountains directly but this year they have been
especially obliging. In contrast, wheatears and shrikes have been at a low ebb
locally and so I am still waiting for my first <i>isabellinus</i>. However, perfectly timed with previous years, <b>Nightjars</b> came through in a strong wave
last weekend, with scores of seven on Friday and four or five more next day.
One of the latter was the most perfectly posed I have seen for many years; it
is easy to be blasé about kicking these hauntingly evocative birds out of dusty
scrub here in the UAE, so one like this at 10 feet every so often is a
necessary re-calibrator.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj46mMDqTjwKn_Xyfv_VE5XqLrottI1bvblAB-7zyjsWj9RWMr9zDKbbwVZOai-gRoCmZ-j3yxRRZ0-O7qVZBuJgQe7-i6Dk_U3AbOBQTS4l1eRuhg8lXgJf41fyzaexJ306LYOQjQjlZA/s1600/IMG_8834.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj46mMDqTjwKn_Xyfv_VE5XqLrottI1bvblAB-7zyjsWj9RWMr9zDKbbwVZOai-gRoCmZ-j3yxRRZ0-O7qVZBuJgQe7-i6Dk_U3AbOBQTS4l1eRuhg8lXgJf41fyzaexJ306LYOQjQjlZA/s640/IMG_8834.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Other good birds have included the
first <b>Pin-tailed Snipe</b> just back in,
returning <b>Heuglin’s Gulls</b> and <b>White Wagtails</b> (found five Masked not
far off island last week but none so far where it counts), my second <b>Rosefinch</b> of the autumn, up to two <b>Wrynecks </b>in a day (it’s been my best
year ever for these) and the marvellous spectacle of eight <b>Black-crowned Night-Herons</b> circling at dawn; I have only seen one
other suspected migrant here in six years. Less rare but more welcome was a <b>Northern Pintail</b>; <b>Shoveler</b> next? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Total so far</i></b> - 188 (104%)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Last additions</i></b> – Plain Leaf-Warbler (5<sup>th</sup> October)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Beauty and the beast to finish with...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3XsnUNJg8DQNXezJ5i-NTSy10ifXYpJDvFaxdyJ-8_551thr286JZVNNXLPYi6kneOPdUuK924FkEaMjtZdUHSCup16a5hbu2tUJVMorSIKbXaHs_F-2b88mcrnz5Z6xcOAWjQvNqhow/s1600/IMG_8860.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3XsnUNJg8DQNXezJ5i-NTSy10ifXYpJDvFaxdyJ-8_551thr286JZVNNXLPYi6kneOPdUuK924FkEaMjtZdUHSCup16a5hbu2tUJVMorSIKbXaHs_F-2b88mcrnz5Z6xcOAWjQvNqhow/s320/IMG_8860.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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OSCARhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08429212779100325647noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4569196215235710183.post-84494511767328717622012-09-30T10:29:00.002-07:002012-09-30T10:29:34.835-07:00State of emergency<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, it wasn’t a bloody Baillons,
but it took us a few days to get on top of it. My assembled crack team
(particle physicist, doting father, Yorkshire comedian and itinerant drifter of
no fixed abode) invested much time and effort next day trying to pin it down,
and despite mp3s, a ghetto blaster, garden shears, matches and a 5 litre
canister of kerosene, it was all to no avail save for a 5 second glimpse for
Simon, whose instant response was </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>LITTLE.</i></b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> No luck for me, that day or
the next, although I did somewhat limit my chances by sticking to the plan and
clearing off to Lulu on Friday morning for a bout of more active hunting. At
least out there if I found a bird that I couldn’t see, nobody else would be
able to either. There has been plenty of migrants coming through throughout the
second half of September, and Lulu, as usual, gave me a great sampling: three
each for </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Golden Orioles</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nightjars</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> plus the usual drizzling of Sylvias,
wheatears – including my second </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Red-tailed</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
of the year, shrikes and co. Plenty more this week have included a most unusual
autumn </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Whinchat</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, a rather early </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bluethroat</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and daily </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Spotted Flycatchers</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and hirundines,
especially </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sand Martins</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> which are probably
having their best ever September. All that has been great, but hardly in the
league of</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> yee gods - Little Crake</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and an early start on Saturday morning, my
fifth attempt at the time (and I have failed again a few times since), finally
produced a countable, even decent view. Once we cleared that little urchin up, the temporary
deadlock was well and truly broken and the year ticks started flowing again: </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Namaqua Dove</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> within 30 minutes (only my
3</span><sup style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">rd</sup><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> ever on AD), next day </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Eurasian
Spoonbill</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> (was confident this one was coming eventually) and, a few days
later, </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Temminck’s Stint</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, another
target, but only just. A seemingly more secure target when all this began, </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thrush Nightingale</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> had long since been
written off due to a miserable May, as I have just one autumn record, as
opposed to ten spring ones in the entire country but the finding of one or two
off-island on Friday last gave me hope and this culminated 24 hours later when
one scudded across the road at the racecourse and was then professionally
pished out off a dense bougainvillea for a wicked and educational view. Caspian
Plover and Egyptian Nightjar, both also seen off-island last week (within 30
minutes of each other!;:-) have yet to appear closer to home, although represent
real and rather long shots respectively. However, proof that I still was on a
roll yesterday came when we found a roosting </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Barn Owl</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> at Emirate’s Palace – my closest ever as I have never got
within 6 feet of any in Norfolk – and only my fourth on the island plus the
first, for anyone as far as know, since 2008. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So I was over the hills and far
away, until I decided to concur with Nick and revise a few targets. Moorhen,
two Marsh Terns and Red-tailed Wheatear all doubtfully missed the cut back at
the start of the year, so adding them to the expected total, now revised to
180, seems reasonable and means that for almost everything left that isn’t a
target, I have seen two times (or less) locally in six years of hard slogging.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">OSCAR<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Total so far</i></b> - 186 (103%)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Last additions</i></b> – Thrush Nightingale and Barn Owl (29<sup>th</sup>
September)</span></div>
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OSCARhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08429212779100325647noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4569196215235710183.post-75364741437562226092012-09-19T10:11:00.001-07:002012-09-19T10:11:58.868-07:00The song remains the same<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another night, another boot. The
golf course had flames licking round the edges rather nicely on arrival; my old
friend, that <b>Whiskered Tern</b> had
pulled in two more marsh terns tonight and one was a marvellous, neat juvenile <b>White-winged</b> that gave terrific views;
only my 5<sup>th</sup> ever locally and not one I was sure I would get on the current campaign. Soon after
that, I turned to find a <b>Hobby</b>
steaming across the lake towards me, then for it to settle on the closest large
boulder and give the best (i.e. most static) view I have ever had of the
species; here in the Emirates they are usually hyper-kinetic. It was my 15<sup>th</sup>
in 6 years here on AD and, marginally, my earliest ever in the autumn. As if
that wasn’t enough, a long-awaited <b>pratincole</b>
also materialised, an easy juvenile <b>Collared</b>
giving great close-ups and nice, instructive flight views. The only fly in the
ointment (or date in the chocolates, to introduce some local flavour) was a glimpse
of a crake, seemingly – but not certainly - a snapper, crashing into the
reedbed. A 45-minute stake-out produced <b>Purple
Herons</b>, both <b>bee-eaters</b>, <b>Yellow Wagtail</b>, <b>Clamorous Reed</b> and a <b>Turkestan
Shrike</b> and two wonderfully spotty <b>Jiffy-jiffies</b>
striding round on the fairways (Chris – take note, if you are still with us)
but no crake. So that is tomorrow’s project, with reinforcements called and
tapes ready. Would it be fair to say you’ll be joining me in hoping that, if it
is a snapper, it isn’t a bloody Baillon’s, Nick?!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Total so far</i></b> - 180 (102%)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Last additions</i></b> – White-winged Tern, Hobby and Collared Pratincole
(19<sup>th</sup> September)</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">OSCAR</span><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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OSCARhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08429212779100325647noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4569196215235710183.post-6352146007306143022012-09-18T09:56:00.000-07:002012-09-18T09:56:09.199-07:00Basket case<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">a.k.a 100 + a whiff of VAT, whatever that is.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTa4oBJ2KNPCZfG7NSS-d3PigkTaUP6go5beEuvluwhkFqGPUWZKOTaLyySqXW9TC6Ig8ncKGNnx8WEUBdusILPkCQZyWmVNvGKBzaVGD5etj6D4m6jFaR8hRrsZmufiopA4VefpiuBsY/s1600/DSCF1906.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTa4oBJ2KNPCZfG7NSS-d3PigkTaUP6go5beEuvluwhkFqGPUWZKOTaLyySqXW9TC6Ig8ncKGNnx8WEUBdusILPkCQZyWmVNvGKBzaVGD5etj6D4m6jFaR8hRrsZmufiopA4VefpiuBsY/s320/DSCF1906.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think I have commented before
on the effect of year-listing on your brain and I found myself in the middle of
another egregious example this afternoon. Furiously thrashing round to find
some material in which to bury the fact that last week’s <b>Scaly-breasted Munia</b> was #173, I found myself scanning through a
flock of 200 mynas trying to find a Bank, which would have been # 176 i.e. 100.00%.
Luckily I failed, leaving that coveted position open for another hour when a <b>Golden Oriole</b> – yeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaa –
flicked across in front of me and then sat up for a nice view. In between
munias and la oriole I had the double whammy of <b>Garganey</b> swimming through the legs of a <b>Little Egret</b> out on the golf course during a busy evening of waders and, straight after la oriole I came up with one of the best, most workable shorebird flocks I have found on Abu Dhabi island, eventually culminating in 2 <b>Broad-billed Sands</b>, only my second ever AD record. My third <b>Green Sandpiper</b>
(and second <b>Garganey</b>) was in the
same flock and other goodies in the last few days have included decent waves of
<b>Isabelline Wheatears</b>, <b>Tree Pipits</b> and <b>Swallows</b>, the odd <b>Roller</b>
and <b>Ortolan</b>, a nice sprinkling of <b>shrikes </b>of four flavours, and <b>bee-eaters</b> daily, including up to 15 <b>Europeans</b> coming in to roost on a
couple of evenings. Rarest of all, at least nationally, was my second <b>Great Reed Warbler</b> of the year,
memorably thudding around on a lawn and traumatising the <b>Whimbrels</b>. No bother counting the primary tips on that one!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Total so far</i></b> - 177 (101%)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Last additions</i></b> – Golden Oriole and Broad-billed Sandpiper (18<sup>th</sup>
September)</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">OSCAR</span><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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OSCARhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08429212779100325647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4569196215235710183.post-44834238295101537422012-09-16T14:09:00.002-07:002012-09-16T14:22:31.816-07:00You Whin some...Having succumbed to the temptation of carbon-twitching - and subsequently dipping - Barred, Baird's and Baillon's in the last 7 days, it was time to banish the demons and get the bike out for an altogether more wholesome twitch. 36 miles later and a species that was in danger of sneaking under the radar was safely bagged: <b>Whinchat</b> (160). It was being chased around by the local Stonechats when I got there, only to vanish when I started trying to do something I thought I'd never do: take pictures with a mobile phone!<br />
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The reason for this about-turn was the arrival in my life of a smartphone. Yes, I have a camera. And yes, it takes OK pics. But no, I didn't have space in my minimalist cycling bag for it (nor the inclination to add any more weight / bulk). And no, it can't do something seriously cool that my smartphone can do: download the <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=bto.org.monitoring.birdtrack"><b>BirdTrack app</b></a> so that I can log my lists electronically <i>in the field</i>, then click a button to upload them when/wherever there's network coverage! No more deciphering lists of 2-letter codes and counts when I get home (or worse still, trying to guestimate the tallies on those 'can't-be-bothered' days) - fantastic!<br />
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Phone-scoping isn't going to win me any prizes but then I'm not after any (otherwise I'd be selling my birding gear... and likely the house, too). However I reckon it captures the 'mood'... and if there <i>had</i> been something mega with the mipits, it would've captured that too.<br />
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Autumn is here</div>
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...plus the other 53 that wouldn't fit in the frame</div>
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<i>Percentage of target to date - </i><b><u>102%</u></b></div>
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<i>Distance cycled -</i><b> </b>542.3mls / 872.7km</div>
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<i>Latest addition - </i> Whinchat (160) 16 September</div>
Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02381178730802945807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4569196215235710183.post-56454339027707157642012-09-12T06:25:00.005-07:002012-09-12T11:53:26.014-07:00500 ClubGreat to see that Oscar is back in the game... or at least as much as he can be, competing in Abu Dhabi by car ;) I was just beginning to think this was a one-horse race - Simon seems marooned on the 88% mark, Chris has chucked in competitive-birding-by-bike in favour of pavement-head-surfing, and Pete was last seen in pursuit of a suite of September rarities that fell <i>just</i> outside his circle...<br />
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A quick 8 miles this lunchtime failed to produce the hoped-for Whinchat. 9 <b>Stone-curlews </b>were the bird highlight, though a <b>fox </b>was slightly better value (let's face it, Stone-curlews don't exactly do much in the middle of the day). The big milestone, however, was pedalling past the 500 mile mark. Hardly outstanding - nor anywhere near Chris and Simon's totals in their county-wide non-motorised years - but it equates to around 50 hours in the saddle instead of the driver's seat, which is a start...<br />
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<i>Percentage of target to date - </i><b><u>101%</u></b></div>
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<i>Distance cycled -</i><b> </b>504.0mls / 811.1km</div>
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<i>Latest addition - </i> Caspian Gull (159) 2 September</div>
Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02381178730802945807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4569196215235710183.post-36174968569993505742012-09-11T10:22:00.002-07:002012-09-11T10:22:18.093-07:00Sanatorium… home again<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Back to the blast furnace for the next campaign and have spent a fair bit of time pounding the golf course since returning. Seven visits in the 11 days of September so far is fairly thorough, especially given a few other (birding) balls to juggle but is quite necessary as, much more so than in spring, things tend to drop in for an evening, an hour or, in the case of five </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wood Sands</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> yesterday, about 15 seconds. Waders are generally the most obvious movers in September, especially in the first half of the month, but it has actually taken a little while for the smouldering to start. Finally started to fly yesterday with 11 species in an hour (out of 13 all month so far), which isn’t bad for nasty bit of pesticide-ridden grassland a stony-edged pool. I’m still in need of Pacific Goldie and Collared Pratincole, both sparse but regular at this time of year (and, at this rate, this means that Caspian Plover or a Broad-bill is now pushing it a bit) but have (finally) added </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ruff</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Green Sandpiper</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ringed</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">sand plovers </b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">have also been showing nicely, with the latter represented by lots of demanding juveniles, as the attached will attest. Any takers?</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Whiskered Terns</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> in and out for a few
nights have been nice and there was eventually some </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">heron</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> action tonight with three </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Purples</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> flying around for ages. Passerines have been mostly slack,
but </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Steppe</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lesser Grey Shrikes</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> nearly side-by-side tonight was pretty classic
and a very handy couple of not-so-</span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Common
Rosefinches</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> have freed up the rest of the month and October for looking for
something much more memorable. Or maybe merely Golden Oriole. </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> are currently daily as usual and </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Kingfisher</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> was only my 3</span><sup style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">rd</sup><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> patch record, all of which
have been in September down the years. Plenty of time yet; autumn runs until mid December out here...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>OSCAR</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Total so far</i></b> - 172 (98%)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Last addition</i></b> – Common Rosefinch (8<sup>th</sup> September)</span></div>
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OSCARhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08429212779100325647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4569196215235710183.post-63536727756053168502012-09-03T04:35:00.004-07:002012-09-03T04:36:40.897-07:00Not to be outdone....And Simon too has added another new species - a juvenile <b>Garganey</b> loafing with the Shovelers on Ibsley Water this morning - and yes, I did eliminate juv. Blue-winged Teal.....Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4569196215235710183.post-45045904792767541332012-09-02T14:16:00.001-07:002012-09-03T07:37:31.453-07:00SnoutyWhat a beaut (?!):<br />
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<b>Caspian Gull</b> (159) OML! Better still, t'was in the first 'gull field' I came to, having decided to pedal the gauntlet that is the A134 in the drizzle yesterday afternoon.<br />
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<i>Percentage of target to date - </i><b><u>101%</u></b></div>
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<i>Distance cycled -</i><b> </b>496.0mls / 798.2km</div>
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<i>Latest addition - </i> Caspian Gull (159) 2 September</div>
Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02381178730802945807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4569196215235710183.post-12431664235676096722012-08-12T12:52:00.002-07:002012-08-12T12:53:07.773-07:00The Glorious TwelfthNo Red Grouse for me but something almost as unlikely for Thetford: <b>Sandwich Tern</b> (158), over calling during a garden ringing session this morning!<br />
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<i>Percentage of target to date - </i><b><u>101%</u></b></div>
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<i>Distance cycled -</i><b> </b>482.6mls / 776.7km</div>
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<i>Latest addition -</i> Sandwich Tern (158) 12 August</div>
</div>Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02381178730802945807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4569196215235710183.post-34837572101651061342012-07-16T10:34:00.002-07:002012-07-16T10:34:51.649-07:00Nirvana<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">Profound peace of mind acquired (thanks for that, Wikipedia): a leisurely Saturday morning pedal and 100% of (revised) target achieved:</span><b> Yellow Wagtail</b> (156) and <b>Corn Bunting</b> (157)! </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Telling that it took until mid-July to find these once-common species but that's another - less happy - story...</span><br />
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<i style="font-size: 13px;">Percentage of target to date - </i><b><u>100%</u></b></div>
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<i>Distance cycled -</i><b> </b>482.6mls / 776.7km</div>
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<i>Latest addition -</i> Corn Bunting (157) 14 July</div>Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02381178730802945807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4569196215235710183.post-64603660560752426512012-07-09T02:21:00.003-07:002012-07-09T02:23:26.135-07:00WHIMBREL!<span style="font-family: 'Droid Sans';"><span style="line-height: 18px;">All quiet in the office on Friday afternoon - that was until Andy Musgrove came running through shouting "<i>WHIMBREL!!</i>" at the top of his voice! Whilst some colleagues grabbed bins, ran downstairs and dashed outside, I opted to stay on the first floor, open the window, climb on the windowsill and stick my head out as far as I dared. Fortunately I made the right choice, as I managed to catch 3 rounds of flight calls from my elevated position: <b>Whimbrel</b> (155) OML!</span></span><br />
<i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Droid Sans'; line-height: 18px;"><br />NB: To keep things interesting (for me), I've decided that Black-tailed Godwit and Red-crested Pochard ought to be included as annual in my 15km radius, so my target moves up to 157...</i><br />
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<i>Percentage of target to date - </i><b>99%</b></div>
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<i>Distance cycled -</i><b> </b>465.8mls / 749.6km</div>
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<i>Latest addition -</i> Whimbrel (155) 6 July</div>Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02381178730802945807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4569196215235710183.post-36231245393993405882012-07-05T09:07:00.000-07:002012-07-05T09:07:54.289-07:00Wet-my-list... Wet-my-list... Wet-my-list...Can you tell what it is yet? Yet another 20 mile evening pedal but this time a double reward: first a <b>Marsh Harrier</b> (153) dropping in to roost in a cereal field - it helps if you know which one to stand near - then better still, the unmistakeable sound of a <b>Quail</b> (154) quip quip-quipping into action.<br />
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(Belated) Happy Independence Day, y'all!<br />
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<i>Percentage of target to date - </i><b>99%</b></div>
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<i>Distance cycled -</i><b> </b>465.8mls / 749.6km</div>
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<i>Latest addition -</i> Quail (154) 4 July</div>Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02381178730802945807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4569196215235710183.post-23909317731093082552012-07-02T05:03:00.000-07:002012-07-02T06:37:53.115-07:00Gripped<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Although Lakenheath RSPB is </span><i style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">just</i><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"> outside my 15-km radius, Lakenheath airbase is not, so this pic - taken there by a 'civilian' on 13 June - is somewhat gripping:</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LxjTZQPxUeg/T_GMjK7_oHI/AAAAAAAAADc/mAWfCVJ2nzQ/s1600/blackkite_lakenheath.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="274" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LxjTZQPxUeg/T_GMjK7_oHI/AAAAAAAAADc/mAWfCVJ2nzQ/s320/blackkite_lakenheath.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white;">Having never fluked one, nor lowered myself to twitch one, Black Kite is a bit more galling than various other species that have been within my radius this year but just not feasible by bike, for various reasons: </span><span style="background-color: white;">Bewick's Swan, Black-necked Grebe, Wood Sandpiper, Whimbrel, Black Tern, Wryneck, Pied Flycatcher and Ring Ouzel, to name a few. </span><span style="background-color: white;"><br />(I blame my missing the other two Black ones on Mr Mills, who dragged me away to Speyside for a week in early May.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> Still, it could've been <i>much</i> worse: the Long-billed Dowitcher was found the evening <i>before</i> we headed north!)</span><br />
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<i>Percentage of target to date - </i><b>98%</b></div>
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<i>Distance cycled -</i><b> </b>446.4mls / 718.4km</div>
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<i>Latest addition -</i> Turtle Dove (152) 23 June</div>Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02381178730802945807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4569196215235710183.post-86228309566225309862012-06-28T11:13:00.000-07:002012-06-28T11:15:29.624-07:00NO SLEEP ‘TIL…<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Right; I am through with
hostilities for a bit. A half-hearted effort for Streaked Weaver earlier this
week was a waste of time, and after the enforced June lay-off, it is now time to
move up a few gears. I expect to be plenty busy for the next month, before
touching down in <b><span style="background-color: white; color: red; font-size: large;">BELFAST</span></b> at the start of August. Before you ask, Simon, this
summer’s ace of spades can be found <a href="http://www.krakatau-tour.com/site/images/stories/krakatau%20volcano.jpg">right here</a>. And it is (almost) as
guaranteed as a toaster – well, sort off. I guess 1883 was <b><i>quite</i></b> a long time
ago…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ciao!</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">OSCAR<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Total so far</i></b> - 169 (96%)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Last addition</i></b> – Still Eurasian Reed Warbler (19<sup>th</sup>
June)</span></div>OSCARhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08429212779100325647noreply@blogger.com0