Bath on Red Alert, Beast from the East Hits..

Date: 1st March 2018

Location: Home Feeders

Weather: Heavy Snow, Windy and Very Cold

Species Highlights: A huge 22 species counted from our Garden feeders. Goldcrest, Blackcap and Lapwing the highlights.

10+ Blue Tit, 5+ Great Tit, 40+ Goldfinch, 1 Coal Tit, 4 Long-Tailed Tit, 2 Bullfinch, 10+ Chaffinch, 1 Wren, 1 Dunnock, 3 Robin, 3 Blackbird, 5 Wood Pigeon, 2 Pied Wagtail, 1 Magpie, 2 Crow, 1 Jay, 1 Goldcrest, 5+ Lesser Black-Backed Gull, 15+ Black-Headed Gull, 1 Redwing, 2 Blackcap, 1 Lapwing - 22 Species Total with 100+ total birds visiting today!

Observation: After being sent home from work, due to the Snow, I decided to do a Window count. We put huge amounts of seed in top the Van, across the car park and filled every feeder. We also put out some fresh water (which froze within the hour)

Goldfinch

Robin

Bullfinch (M)

Great Tit

Blue Tit

Pied Wagtail

Chaffinch (F) 

Goldfinch Flock

Redwing

Goldcrest

Lapwing!!

Blackcap (M)

Blackbird (F)

Current Snow Depths 

We are going to re-fill and put out fresh seed and water tomorrow morning, and try and visit the Patch to put down seed also, so another blog may be posted tomorrow!

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Monksdale Road Bath & Waxwings

Date: 21/02/2017

Location: Monksdale Road - Bath & Waxwings

Weather: Drizzle and Grey

Other Species: 
Greenfinch, Dunnock, Rook, Crow, Magpie, Robin, House Sparrow, Waxwing.

Observation: 
A report from previous day on some Waxwings at Monksdale Road in Bath had to be followed up, location is 1.5 miles from my patch! @GlenOrioleglen had reported them day before, I missed tweet but this morning he tweeted again and I was there!

On arriving I was only person there it was raining and felt a bit strange sat in Van with binoculars and camera trained on entrance bushes to allotments, I waited for around 30 mins and was thinking they've gone..... When!! 

One showed and struggled to get a juicy rose-hip berry.

The magnificent Bird posed around 5 meters from me!

It only stayed the road side of the bush for 2/3 mins then flew up into nearby trees, to join another.

They flew down to feed 3 or 4 times but each time the wrong side of bush for me to see. Then one flew down on to Footpath to pick up a few fallen berries.

Cars passing by it didn't seem to worry as it threw this berry down the hatch!

Stunning colours on rear. Best rump award 2017 goes to the Waxwing!

From the floor it flew straight towards me and landed in tree above where I was parked, Too close almost! From there they fed once more then flew off in the direction of my house. 
I'm hoping! 
Anyway around 5 other people managed to see while i was there and the best Monksdale road ever looked!

Checked Haycombe Cemetery on way home as there are lots of berries up there, so next few days they could get some new visitors .

On arriving home the feeders were full of finches lots of Goldfinches.

Also Bullfinches feeding on my home made perch. Another stunning bird.

Monday went to Chew Valley Lake and saw 3 Great Black Backed gulls fairly close to Dam Wall.

That gull still there saw him twice once at Herriott's an Herons Green, I'm going for Herring Gull x Lesser Black Backed.

Gotta love Gulls this Lesser Black Backed 1st year looks cracking.

More hybrids this Chiloe Wigeon or at least escapee on Herriott's.

I'll end tonight blog with a bit of Muted Love.

Thanks to everyone I spoke to, and it was nice to meet you!

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Home Feeders In Spring Sunshine!

Date: 18th February 2017

Location: Home Feeders

Weather: Blue Sky, Sunny + Warm (13.5 Degrees)

Other Species: 3 Bullfinch, 10 Goldfinch, Chaffinch, 2 Coal Tit, 5 Great Tit, 6 Blue Tit, 6 Long-Tailed Tit, 2 Wood Pigeon, 2 Collared Dove, 2 Pied Wagtail, 1 Grey Wagtail, 2 Blackbird, 2 Magpie

Observation: With sunshine and a recent delivery of seed, tree's were full of birds, so the first Birding from The Window of 2017 was in order.

First up were our Bullfinches which visit daily today we had both Male and Female posing for some images. We had 3 in total today.

Just the single Female Bullfinch today.

Even the common garden birds gave some great shots!

Close-up of this scruffy Long-Tailed Tit.

A total of 10 Goldfinch in the sunshine today!

Always scrapping and fighting over the best spot on the feeders!

Even a flight shot... Almost!

One of the two Coal Tit's today.

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14 Waxwings at Bradley Stoke..

Date: 29th January 2017

Location: Bradley Stoke, Bristol

Weather: Overcast with Light Rain

Other Species: 14 Waxwing

Observation: We arrived back from Iceland in the early hours of this morning, but couldn't resist rushing out and heading over to Tesco's at Bradley Stoke after we seen some tweets.

On arrival, the car park was busy with Sunday shoppers but we headed for the 4-5 birders present, we were told they had just flown high into the tree over the road.

This was the first view we had of the Waxwings, where they stayed for approx 5-10 minutes before flying over the top of us and landing.

As the Waxwings were a bit wary of the passing people we stayed distant and waited for them to come to us, they didn't come closer than 50-60 foot.

We had tried numerous times since December 2012 (when we had a single Waxwing on our tree) we finally got some decent images of the 14 Waxwing present.

A nice wide shot of some of the 14 Waxwings.

One Waxwing had been ringed so we contacted Grampian Ringing to inform them of this and it shows the Waxwing was ringed on 10/12/2016 in Aberdeen! Amazing to think they have travelled so far south in such a short time.
Please do report any ringed Waxwing's to Grampian Ringing so they can keep track of their Waxwings.


After about a hour of them flying back and forth, they flew off South East.

Despite the poor light and rain, it really was 3rd time lucky for us!

We currently have over 2500 images between us of out trip to Iceland with lots of new birds, we will post a blog of this over the next couple of days!

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Full Feeders !

Date: 03/12/2016

Location: Weston Lock, My Feeders 

Weather: Mostly Grey

Other Species: 
Weston lock first: Kingfisher, Goldcrest, Long Tailed Tits, Mute Swan, Moorhen.
Home Feeders: 
1 Grey Wagtail, 2 Pied Wagtail,1 Greater Spotted Woodpecker, 2 Coal Tit, 5+ Great Tit, 5+Blue Tit, 2 Collared Dove, 2 Wood Pigeon, 1 Magpie,
 10+ Goldfinch, 2 Bullfinch, 3 Chaffinch, 5 Long Tailed Tits.

Observation: 
Had reports of Yellow Browed Warbler at Weston Lock which about 1/2 mile from me as the crow flies as it were, so decided to have a look it seems to be a bird I keep missing. I missed it again no sign, looked for about hour an half for it but did see a rather smart Kingfisher.

It made a couple of attempts at fishing which I missed!

After watching it for a while noticed it kept coming back to same perch back it didn't help me to improve shots, 5.6 aperture,  400 shutter 4000 iso it was a bit grey at that point. Its not a setting i would normally use! 

So with no sign of YBW I went home and as they when I went out my feeders in front my house where full of birds! 

2 Pied Wagtails on floor with a visit from a Grey Wagtail.

Goldfinch seem to be biggest numbers with at least 10 on tree at any one time.

As you can see from these terrible shots been trying to get a wing flap shot for some time, about 4 years! With no luck! 

A better day with more light and a faster shutter speed me thinks.

Plus Coal Tits x2, had the Greater Spotted Woodpecker on opening the curtains this morning. Long Tailed and lots of Blue and Great Tits.

Also get visits from Collared Doves, Wood Pigeons, Magpies, Crow, Lesser Black Backed Gulls and Herring Gulls!

It also nice to see the Bullfinch and Chaffinch Families returning after a spell away, 3 Chaffinches plus this smart Female Bullfinch.

There are only 3 trees in the close where I live but the other side of car park there are a few more. The birds seem to wait in those tree's and bushes then when clear of people and the cars which constantly come and go fly across to my tree!

To end Mr Bullfinch with a beak full, The seed costs a fortune but worth it I think!

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