Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2021 i Bird Watching

twitter.com/BirdWatchingMag facebook.com/BirdWatchingMag RARITY RATINGS Common, widely distributed Localised – always a treat Very scarce or rare 1 CROSSBILL Crossbills breed very early in the year, and later disperse, often widely, in search of the ripest, tastiest seeds from cones of conifers (generally favouring non-native species such as the spruces and Western Hemlock, rather than native Scots Pines). Flocks usually comprise birds of many colours, ranging from streaked brown juveniles, through yellows, greens, oranges and reds according to gender and maturity (females are the greener birds). Listen for the characteristic ‘chup chup’ calls (usually when flying or before flight) and look for big, chunky finches, or the falling cones of a feeding flock. DID YOU KNOW? Mediterranean Gulls are a modern success story in the UK, with probably 1,000 or so…

Find the location closest to your destination and add or subtract the hours and minutes from the high tide time at London Bridge, below. SOUTH WEST Weston-Super-Mare (+5:05) Barnstaple (+4:30) Newquay (+3:32) Falmouth (+3:30) Plymouth (+4:05) Torquay (+4:40) Bournemouth (-5:09)* Portland (+4:57) St Peter Port (+4:53) Swanage (-5:19)* Portsmouth (-2:29) Southampton (-2:53) SOUTH EAST Ryde (-2:29) Brighton (-2:51) Eastboume (-2:48) Dungeness (-3:05) Dover (-2:53) Margate (-1:52) Herne Bay (-1:24) Southend-on-sea (-1:22) Clacton-on-sea (-2:00) EAST ANGLIA Felixstowe Pier (-2:23) Aldeburgh (-2:53) Lowestoft (-4:23) Cromer (+4:56) Hunstanton (+4:44) WALES Colwyn Bay (-2:47) Holyhead (-3:28) Barmouth (-5:45) Aberystwyth (-6:11) Fishguard (+5:44) Swansea (+4:42) Milford Haven (+4:37) Cardiff (+5:15) NORTH WEST Whitehaven (-2:30) Douglas (-2:44) Morecambe (-2:33) Blackpool (-2:50) NORTH EAST Skegness (+4:29) Grimsby (+4:13) Bridlington (+2:58) Whitby (+2:20) Hartlepool (+1:59) Blyth (+1:46) Berwick…

I’m a keen gardener and excited about seeing nature. However, at home, it is always busy and, after stopping to participate in the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch in January, I realised I wasn’t enjoying the garden birdlife as regularly as I wanted to. I would religiously fill the feeders and provide water, and would always be delighted to catch a glimpse of a visitor feeding or bathing, while engaged in something else. Occasionally, we’d visit RSPB sites as a family and enjoy the range of birdlife and I’d leave wanting to learn more about birds, and to see more. We also made a camouflage wigwam in the garden last summer with our youngest son, and birdwatched from that! Although I wanted to spread my wings far and wide, this wasn’t…

There is a bit of a north-south divide in the UK when it comes to birds. In fact, to be more precise, there is a north-west to south-east divide. The geography of the country dictates that in the north and the west there are uplands and further south and east, the land is lower and flatter. And it happens that some birds prefer to live and breed in upland habitats. So, some of these birds are not seen at all further south or in lowland areas. Others are more commonly seen in uplands in the summer and head downslope for the non-breeding season. Here are six species which are usually associated with upland areas (particularly at nesting time). See how many of these birds you can name. Then turn the…

COLLECT & KEEP Every month we bring you 10 more sites to build up your GO BIRDING collection PRODUCT OF THE MONTH The Endurance ED 15–45x60 is lightweight, compact and easy to use with dual focus knob (coarse and fine). 3x ratio eyepieces with twist-up eye cups and retractable sunshades. Fully Multi-Coated lenses and prisms Dielectric Coated for increased reflectivity. Providing the performance to get close to the action with the durability you demand. UK.HAWKEOPTICS.COM/NATURE NORTHUMBERLAND MAX MILES ON FOOT: 4 MIN TIME: 3–4 HOURS ROSS BACK SANDS Sweeping beaches, sand dunes and farmland offer excellent birding Ross forms part of the Lindisfarne National Nature Reserve, and is also a working farm and community. The beach is accessed by a one-mile walk on a public footpath with cattle and sheep.…

POSTCODE: TA4 2DS (nearby) GRID REF: SS 970 285 MAP: OS Explorer OL9, OS Landranger 181 PARKING: Clearly marked on OS map on the B3190, 5 miles east of Dulverton. Honesty box suggesting a £2 donation to maintain the car park and toilets TERRAIN: Tracks; woodland and lakeside paths; open moorland, so clear, fine weather is vital ACCESS: All year round, though opening times for facilities at the hub (see below) may vary FACILITIES: Picnic benches and toilets in car park. Various facilities at Wimbleball’s main ‘hub’ on the western side of the lake if you walk that far: facebook.com/wimbleball gives details…

Gull challenge Q Can you help please? I am used to getting gulls in my garden: Black-headed, Lesser Black-backed and Herring. The gull in the photo however seems a little different. I struggle with the ‘new’ gulls now on the scene so am wondering if this could be a Yellow-legged Gull. The back does not seem dark enough for a Lesser Black-backed and the legs appear to be yellow. I tend to err on the side of caution and appreciate the odds are against it; but I have to ask. Allen Beales A Good old gulls, terrifying gulls! We in the BW ‘office’ have no great claims to expertise on large, pale-headed gulls. So, our answer comes with a margin of error. Part of the challenge comes with judging from…

FACT FILE Mallard Anas platyrhynchos • Size: 50 – 60cm • Relatives: Anatinae (dabbling ducks) • Conservation status: IUCN Least Concern • Known urban locations to find it: Any lick of water near you! • Interesting fact: It is only the female that actually issues the universally known ‘quacks’ The Mallard has got be up there with the pigeon and sparrow as one of the world’s most recognised birds. The general public would definitely have no problem in pointing one out in an identity parade if it were side by side with a Sunbittern and Golden Eagle. Well, it would be recognised in as much that it was a duck. I would guess that most people have not heard of the word Mallard. Indeed, the Victorians simply knew it as…

In association with Q What’s the difference between optical zoom and digital zoom? A With an optical zoom the change in focal length of the lens is achieved by adjusting the optics in the lens. With a digital zoom the changes in focal length come about by cropping the image sensor. This leads to a drop in resolution as fewer pixels are used as the focal length increases. For bird pictures it is best to use an optical zoom rather than rely on a digital zoom. Q I’m looking at buying an older model or secondhand DSLR, but will there be plenty of accessories and support still available for it? A As long as it’s Canon, Nikon etc there shouldn’t be any issues and there is a wealth of used…

WOMEN’S TERN SILHOUETTE RECYCLED JUMPER, £40 Buy one of these to give BirdLife International a bit of help, and to keep warm when the temperature drops. Half of it is post-consumer remanufactured organic cotton. And the other half is organic cotton. The factory it comes out of runs on renewable energy, and the jumper is GM free and hasn’t been tested on animals – I don’t think they’d want to wear it anyway. Did you know that almost a third of the world’s seabirds are globally threatened? Sizes 8–18. birdlife.teemill.com OS FIRST AID KIT FOR WALKERS, £16.99 All being well you’ll never need this, but if your birding takes you off the beaten track, carrying a first aid kit is a sensible thing to do. This one weighs 180g and…

SOUTH WEST Highlights In association with The Northern Mockingbird did an overnight flit from Exmouth, Devon, on the night of 7th/8th. A Western Subalpine Warbler was a fine find at Kynance Cove, Cornwall. AVON MIGRATION: First dates included Hobby (1st), Cuckoo (14th), Swift (21st), Reed and Grasshopper Warblers (4th), Wood Warbler (9th), Whitethroat (2nd), Lesser Whitethroat (19th), Garden Warbler (1st) and Whinchat (15th). Ring Ouzels, Redstarts and Pied Flycatchers passed through all month, with the first Spotted Flycatcher (25th). There were several coastal reports of Hen Harriers, with one, unusually, lingering for a week at Nailse a and Kenn Moors. CLEVEDON TO WESTON-SUPER-MARE: A Quail flew past Sand Point (9th). Sand Bay had eight Knot. There were two Jack Snipe at Uphill (1st). Nine Kittiwakes were off Sand Point (27th).…

Ruth Miller: My site is my local patch, Great Orme’s Head in Llandudno, Wales: exciting birds and lovely coastal scenery. Tony Langford: Hayle Estuary, Cornwall. Its compact size enables close views of a wide variety of wildfowl, waders and gulls. David Lindo: I am always drawn back to my beloved (and currently partially decimated) Wormwood Scrubs in west London. David Chandler: I really like my local patch – Ouse Fen and thereabouts. Further afield – Minsmere and Titchwell.…

GIANT PETREL One of the sensational stories of 2019 was the giant petrel sp which was seen by successive observers flying north off the coast of Durham and Northumberland (2 July). Always too far to clinch the precise species (they are very similar). What are the chances of a repeat performance this year? (Very slim!) PALLAS’S GULL With one accepted record of this giant black-headed gull, way back in 1859, this is one of the rarest birds on the British List. There have been claims over the years, even as recently as 2014. Could this be the year? (Probably not!) SHORT-TOED EAGLE There have been four accepted Short-toed Eagles in the UK (three excluding one in Guernsey. At least one other will be added soon, as a moribund individual was…

NABOKOV’S LOVE Quite aside from his literary oeuvre, Vladimir Nabokov was an accomplished entomologist. He was smitten by one particular set of moths – clearwings – whose primary survival tactic is to imitate wasps in both looks and behaviour. Nabokov lauded clearwings for ‘having carried [the deception] to a point of mimetic subtlety far in excess of the predator’s power of appreciation’. People see clearwings most easily by luring males with synthetically produced pheromones. In 2020, a pheromone lure finally became available for the otherwise elusive Lunar Hornet Moth, which mimics the Hornet. The lure’s swift deployment unveiled hundreds of previously unknown sites nationwide for the moth. What will 2021 reveal? PLANT Sunny buttons I love Tansy. Willowy plants, often growing along riversides and on brownfield sites, they are much…

I try to avoid politics in these pieces… as you might suspect, I’m as rampant in my politics as I am in everything else. However, the recent change of US leadership is too big a thing for the world, to go unremarked. Executive action already reversed policy on climate change and mad environmentally dangerous projects like unnecessary oil pipelines. Most significant is the willingness to re-engage with the world. As a major contributor to global warming, a US change of direction has massive implications, not just of itself; but if they are back in the fold, it makes it easier to put pressure on the other big players, like China and Brazil, to start moving away from carbon-based energy and disastrous land use. Meanwhile, homegrown policies need close watching. Despite…

There’s still time to sign up for our #My200BirdYear challenge – even if you’ve missed spring migration, remember that all those migrants have to pass through again in the autumn! • Go to: birdwatching.co.uk/my-200-sign-up • Complete the form there, and you’re signed up • Keep an eye on our website: birdwatching.co.uk for regular updates, tips and advice • Join our dedicated Facebook group: facebook.com/groups/ My200BirdYear to exchange sightings, photos and birding knowledge • Buy Bird Watching magazine for monthly features on the which species to look for, when, and where, and how to identify them when you do see them • Download our target list at: birdwatching.co.uk/target-list • Get out there, and watch birds! Good luck!…

POSTCODE: NE70 7EN GRID REF: NU 133 372 MAPS: OS Explorer 340, OS Landranger 75 PARKING: Turn off the Northumberland Coastal Route and follow the road until you come to a small designated car park of five cars on the left and a sign prohibiting you from going any further. From May to September parking can be horrendous here with tourists parking on the verges TERRAIN: Flat on footpath across fields and sand ACCESS: Open all year round FACILITIES: None. Shops, café and toilets are found at Belford…

DOMINIC COUZENS ON THE... SPECIES FACTFILE HONEY BUZZARD Scientific name: Pernis apivorus Length: 52–60cm Wingspan: 135–150cm UK numbers: 41 breeding pairs Habitat: Open woodland Diet: Mainly wasp and bee insect larvae There are some species that I just don’t ‘get’. Not many, because bird lifestyles are generally quite easy to appreciate. Take a Blue Tit – it eats seeds from autumn to winter and then feeds its young on caterpillars when there are insane numbers of caterpillars around. Similarly, a Dunlin feeds on a mudflat, where there are zillions of worms, crustaceans and molluscs per square metre in one of the richest habitats on earth. Goldfinches eat seeds from thistles, which are everywhere, and Swifts feed on the same wafted invertebrates that you and I sometimes inadvertently swallow. It makes sense.…

The Corn Bunting is one of the best (or worst) examples of a once common and widespread farmland bird that has been starved out of existence by modern farming practices: the population declined by 88% between 1970 and 1999. When not nesting, its diet consists of fallen seeds: winter stubble fields were a perfect feeding ground but are now a thing of the past in most parts of the UK. During the breeding season, insects and the like are the primary food for growing chicks. However, year-round use of the land, ‘efficient’ herbicides and the prolific use of modern pesticides renders most arable fields essentially sterile in terms of native biodiversity. The story of the demise of the Corn Bunting is linked to, and emblematic of, the industrialisation of farmed…

WHAT IS A BIRD? EDITED BY TONY D WILLIAMS, PRINCETON, HB £30 This is a book which quite literally tells you everything you wanted to know about birds. Not an ID book, but about how the birds work and have evolved into this modern world of ours. The contributors are seven pros working with birds, and they’ve absolutely gone to town to cover all angles here. The photos are breathtaking, and the way the information is passed on to you, as potentially a beginner from an experienced field worker, is excellent. “An absorbing and beautifully presented exploration of the natural history of birds,” say the publishers, and they’re dead right. HEATHLAND CLIVE CHATTERS, BLOOMSBURY, HB £31.50 This is number nine in the British Wildlife series, and offers great coverage of…

What first sparked your interest in birdwatching, and when? My earliest memory of birdwatching is of visiting WWT Martin Mere in Lancashire. I recently found a list of what I had seen there in an old bird book, from when I was about 11; so it must have been around then. Who was your birdwatching inspiration or mentor? The inspiration all came from my parents. They were relentless in taking my family out when I was a child and that has helped to foster a lasting love of the outdoors in all of their children. Do you bird alone or with a friend? I’d go with my family and my partner, for sure. But if they weren’t available, I’d be happy by myself with a selection of podcasts for company.…

BIRD OF THE MONTH BLACK-NECKED GREBE The Black-necked Grebe is one of four species of grebe which regularly breed in the UK. The Great Crested Grebe and Little Grebe are widespread, both with about 5,000 nesting pairs. Slavonian Grebes breed in tiny numbers (about 30 pairs) at selected small and smallish lochs in the Highlands of Scotland. Meanwhile, further south, at selected sites scattered across England, up to 50 pairs of beautiful Black-necked Grebes attempt to raise their exquisite fluffy chicks. All our grebes are handsome birds in breeding plumage, but the Slavonian and Black-necked Grebes are the top challengers for the crown of most pleasing on the eye (their scarcity helps sway the judges...). Black-necked Grebes have dark rufous flanks and black backs, necks (of course) and heads, but…

Regular readers of this column may be aware that I love a bit of listing, especially local year listing. And I also love a bit of a Big Day (aka bird race), which is basically intense listing but over a single calendar day. I also like to set myself little motivational challenges for my birding (and listing). So it was that I decided I would try to add 30 new species of bird to my Peterborough area year list during the 30 days of April (the 30 in 30 Challenge). Yes, I know, I say I try to do this every year, but this year it was a bit different. The main stumbling block was a bit of a biggy. No, not the perils of lockdown birding, nor the appalling…

Festival date Spurn Migration Festival will take place on 10-12 September, with walks, talks, workshops and the chance to watch autumn migration all around you. It takes place across Spurn, Kilnsea and Easington in East Yorkshire. Scott Mayson, BirdTrack organiser and Bird Observatories contact for the BTO, said: “Spurn Migration Festival is a unique opportunity to highlight the amazing work the Bird Observatories do, meet BTO members and others who share a love of birds and to revel in the wonders of migration, all at a truly amazing location.” Tickets went on sale from 24 May. Reintroduction plan Plans to reintroduce White-tailed Eagles to the Norfolk coast have been given the go-ahead. Natural England has agreed conservationists can release 60 young birds at Wild Ken Hill, between King’s Lynn and…

POSTCODE: CH7 4DD – this the code for Hendrefoelas on the minor road crossing the mountain GRID REF: SJ 217 590 MAPS: OS Explorer 265, OS Landranger 117 PARKING: Limited parking where the forest track leaves the road on the southern boundary of the forest or beside the minor road at the northern end of this same track TERRAIN: A largely coniferous forest intersected by a cycle trail and several footpaths ACCESS: Open at all times FACILITIES: None on site so best head four miles for Mold…

WE LOVE... The line of Blue Tit, Great Tit, Robin and Blue Tit on one feeder is great, but Julie Mayo’s superb Mistle Thrush is even better!…

Fully inclusive of cruise, return flight via Oslo (based on London airports, though there are many return flight options), and our office and guiding services. Reserve the cabin of your choice! All are quoted per person in shared cabins: Quad. Porthole £2,795 Triple Porthole £3,145 Twin Porthole £3,495 Twin Window £3,695 Twin De Luxe £3,895 Superior £4,295 Junior Suite £4,495 Grand Suite £4,695 Singles – please consider sharing with people of the same gender; this works very well in comfortable accommodation on this voyage. Single occupancy of a Twin Porthole cabin is priced at £4,995. Friendly and experienced Heatherlea guides will be excited to share their knowledge and enthusiasm, and we will be flexible in our itinerary, paying close attention to weather and ice, changing course and using inflatable zodiacs…

NEW SERIES! Be a better bird photographer 5 tips for success Now lockdowns across the country are starting to ease, hopefully, we will all be back out with our cameras before we know it. While it feels like our lives have been put on hold, the natural world has not stopped. Wildlife is still going about its daily routine as normal, albeit under less pressure from humans. My favourite time of the year has not been paused – the return of seabirds to our cliffs. At this time of year, seabird colonies will now be bustling high-rise tower blocks. In the article below, I share five tips to improve your seabird photography that can be put into practice once it is safe to explore. Think wide I think the biggest…

£89 Part of the appeal of birdwatching, for me, has always been that it involves at least some tramping around, raising the heart rate, even if only slightly. But, and it’s a big but, I’m now of an age when a nice sit-down and a cup of tea (and a biscuit, well, yes, thanks, if you’re offering) holds an ever-increasing appeal, too. So, I put Walkstool to the test over a few weeks. I wasn’t, if I’m honest, surprised at how much I appreciated the chance it gave me to rest aching feet and creaking knees during some endlessly changeable spring weather and long walks in search of passage migrants, but I wasn’t expecting it to subtly change the way I birdwatched some of the time. More of that later.…