tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67089437157481555632024-03-13T02:56:24.571+00:00Grimston WarblerYoung enthusiastic birder, who loves Bird ringing as well as many other nature activities Toby Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10460894272214119675noreply@blogger.comBlogger88125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6708943715748155563.post-73878415048915707592016-06-04T11:01:00.000+01:002016-06-04T11:16:15.001+01:00BTO Young Birders Camp (27th-29th May) <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Last August around the time of the Birdfair, the BTO announced that they
would be holding their first Young Birders Weekend which would be sponsored by
the</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span><a href="http://www.cameronbespolka.com/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Cameron Bespolka Trust</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">, at the time I knew
that I probably couldn't make it due to it being in exam season. But 2
weeks ago I found out that there were still places available, with it also
being in my holiday I could make it! So here is how this weekend turned out to
be one of the greatest experiences of my life! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 18pt;">Day 1<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I stayed behind school to get changed and waited for my dad to pick me
up from school, we set off around 4pm hoping to get to the BTO HQ in
Thetford Norfolk for 6:30pm but due to</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">2</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> accidents on
the A1 we didn't arrive till 7:15pm but in that time my dad and I got brilliant
views of Red Kite, Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel and Grey Heron. When I arrived
many people had arrived some I knew and others I was yet to get to know.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">After everyone else arrived we tucked into dinner, I sat on a table with
<a href="https://twitter.com/Ben_Moyes16">Ben Moyes</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/sampittmiller">Sam-Pitt Miller</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/Elliot_Montieth">Elliot Montieth</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/young_birder89">Luke Nash</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/MaxHellicar1">Max Hellicar</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/nerdboy386">Zach Haynes</a>. I knew most of them on the table got as the evening progressed we all
got to know each other better, later on we were taken to the campsite where
Glamping-styled Tipis awaited us. We all unpacked and got to know each
other in our tents even better, by this time it was 10:30pm with a 4:45am start
the next morning so we all decided to 'try' and get some sleep, but 2 factors
affected my tents sleep; one being the tent next to us who were talking or an
extra hour! And forgetting to zip the bottom of the tent up properly so we were
all quite cold! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tipis - Ieuan Evans <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 18px;">©</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Birdcamp Selfie from Left-Right: Elliot, Myself, Ben, Max and Eleanor - Ben Moyes
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 18pt;">Day 2<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">It was a very early start 4:15am start but to brighten the mood was a
distant Cuckoo singing away in the distance! There were a lot of tired zombies
walking around the camp, but the excitement was starting to kick in, as we
arrived at the BTO reserve the Nunnery Lakes, to take part in separate tasks in
multiple groups which were; Bird Ringing, Nest Recording, Bird ID and Bird
Mapping. I was in Group 2 which was made up of Paddy, Mya Bambrick and Sam-Pitt
Miller. We started off with a ringing session (my favourite) I got to extract 2
Willow Warblers and got to see my first Kingfisher in the hand this year! Also
saw my first Reed Warbler of the year, as I've not been out to a reedbed this
year due to GCSE revision. In the other groups the highlight was a smart Garden Warbler.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Kingfisher caught</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wingshot of the Kingfisher</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Garden Warbler - Elliot Montieth <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">©</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Our next activity was Bird Mapping, we were led by Su Gough, like many
people in my group this was a different way of recording birds in a given area.
we took a particular route that Su had mapped around the Nunnery Lakes, we
started off straight they way with a singing Willow Warbler and Whitethroat. We
later saw Canada Geese with many Goslings some of the geese had BTO colour neck
rings on (this doesn't harm the bird) and saw my first Cuckoo, at first Paddy
and myself saw what we thought to be a female Kestrel fly away from us on our
walk, but when it was flying away a bubbling call was heard from the same
direction, this turned out to be the female Cuckoo, but this Cuckoo was very
special it's a hepatic bird which is a rare 'morph' of the Eurasian Cuckoo. We
finished the walk with seeing 2 pairs of Kingfisher, multiple Reed Warblers, a
Treecreeper with nesting material and a very unusual singing Marsh Tit. This
was a brilliant way to map out singing birds around your patch.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">This was followed by Paul Stancliffe taking a bird ID session around the
Lakes, we saw the hepatic Cuckoo again, plus Paul taught us how to separate
Sedge from Reed Warbler and Garden Warbler from Blackcap. After watching and
listening to the knowledge of Paul, he went to show a site where we could
hopefully see Slow Worm, this is reptile I've always wanted to see, well we
didn't just see one! We saw 12 Slow Worms varying in size and huge Grass Snake.
Already this weekend is getting really awesome and were not even half way
through!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2 small Slow-worms</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The biggest Slow-Worm</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">After that session, we went onto Nest Recording with Mike Toms, we were
equipped with a cane (for tapping only) and given basic knowledge, he showed us
a Linnet nest found be Ben Moyes earlier on today as well as Yellowhammer and
Whitethroat both found by Elliot Montieth. When tapping around the gorse
bushes, my hay fever started to set in quite bad, then I saw something hopping
along the floor, after some watching it turned out to be an Adult Jay! After
catching the bird it was apparent it was severely underweight. We took the bird
hoping it would later be released after some feeding Also Mike showed us his
Red-legged Partridge nest with 12 eggs in! With 10 minutes left we were the
only group who hadn't found a nest, then suddenly I saw a Willow Warbler fly
from almost under my foot! After half an hour of waiting from a distance, Mike
Toms managed to find the Willow Warbler nest located in some dead grass, the nest
contained 6 young chicks big enough to ring, so everyone in the group managed
to ring one of the chicks!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0-DkufgYmaCTe-QPpQw-OVIX5mWb4I1ZggryIorxN2eqkp1IhyphenhyphenE1etZpX9vdAxpeDPXo_z0cPETdcWN4MrWToxaDoE0Hl2nY4CXgevrW-trK28ab8c-I0qX7CYstT7a9I2_yn-ebi0n1J/s1600/IMG_5245.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0-DkufgYmaCTe-QPpQw-OVIX5mWb4I1ZggryIorxN2eqkp1IhyphenhyphenE1etZpX9vdAxpeDPXo_z0cPETdcWN4MrWToxaDoE0Hl2nY4CXgevrW-trK28ab8c-I0qX7CYstT7a9I2_yn-ebi0n1J/s320/IMG_5245.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yellowhammer nest found by Elliot Montieth</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCG93GYWxxiQ-fT7zjcOV3Loo-GTvRASTxSwVdgNApFcULt0Va9nZsfmj8m5XE95X_juf9lRGJ__Tev6_7D9x7gGZ_5uewxdadFgCBZKQxyhb-UcTDyW38hWIYCVVn8mFD385ivmMjafuC/s1600/IMG_5247.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCG93GYWxxiQ-fT7zjcOV3Loo-GTvRASTxSwVdgNApFcULt0Va9nZsfmj8m5XE95X_juf9lRGJ__Tev6_7D9x7gGZ_5uewxdadFgCBZKQxyhb-UcTDyW38hWIYCVVn8mFD385ivmMjafuC/s320/IMG_5247.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The unwell Jay caught whilst nest finding</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhynPZTzUkcN0YXfYOWa-LXH5dW3Tc6poAz_dI_SJYB0z1-kzEybAkqQ9P5lNxhzYZawAEG4ma6FRO7U_WA55pDu9vDQs4gW4XDqYfdPL0P2tWsxb-A9WopmU_sPNyki0VO7HrEi314R5cT/s1600/IMG_5248.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhynPZTzUkcN0YXfYOWa-LXH5dW3Tc6poAz_dI_SJYB0z1-kzEybAkqQ9P5lNxhzYZawAEG4ma6FRO7U_WA55pDu9vDQs4gW4XDqYfdPL0P2tWsxb-A9WopmU_sPNyki0VO7HrEi314R5cT/s320/IMG_5248.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Linnet nest found by Ben Moyes</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3jU_mPAzI4C7a0rYjKnpVo7KbqIvS-FtCtrM-XOZm7T-lGHrYsmIX9pknFNe0t0CCw4p2xvWqYMq5kaf4FWdjVJcQCowlAe2q-ghjcPwJnccEQWLoeb9kMglOG27go2xxWL7lBKwa5nHe/s1600/IMG_5250.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3jU_mPAzI4C7a0rYjKnpVo7KbqIvS-FtCtrM-XOZm7T-lGHrYsmIX9pknFNe0t0CCw4p2xvWqYMq5kaf4FWdjVJcQCowlAe2q-ghjcPwJnccEQWLoeb9kMglOG27go2xxWL7lBKwa5nHe/s320/IMG_5250.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Willow Warbler nest that I found</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">We didn't have breakfast till 11am! We were all starving but 10 minutes
later LUNCH arrived! Our next stop was one of the places I was most looking
forward to about this trip the RSPB's LAKENHEATH FEN, we were given some brief
history about Lakenheath we were shown a Crane egg from a predated nest earlier
this year. We were split into 2 groups with David Walsh, a good friend of mine
on the other team as we set off for an afternoon Bird Race.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Within 5 minutes we had ticked off Cetti's Warbler, Cuckoo, Buzzard,
Reed Bunting and Jay. Later along the path we reached a view platform looking
over one of the reedbeds, myself and Dannte (London Birder) went in search of a
close Cuckoo we could hear, after some fleeting glimpses we managed of the
Cuckoo we also ticked off Shoveler, Kingfisher and Sedge Warbler. After the
Cuckoo moved on, we realised that another bird landed really close to path
after some searching we managed to pin point the Cuckoo and I managed to get
some photos in the scope, they weren't brilliant but I thought they weren't
going to get any better, boy was I wrong! Within 10 minutes the bird seemed to
be in TOUCHING distance through the scope, this is one of those times you dream
of getting so close to a particular bird, this time it came true even Dae ja
vu! After the bird flew off still can't believed the views we got, it wasn't
over! Within a few minutes I was watching Bearded Tits 5 metres away from me,
then I got a text from Elliot saying that Bitterns were flying 5m away from
them! They weren't wrong as one bird flew straight over our heads! Already
getting my best views of Cuckoo, Bearded Tit and Bittern ever it had to end
somewhere! With very distant Cranes, 2 adults and a single chick to be seen. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bitten flying - Elliot Montieth <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 18px;">©<br /></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2 Crane and a Marsh Harrier - Elliot Montieth <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 18px;">©</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAHOBlctuc9bRiWcmJpvpCSKcg7YzCdehwVC3DTpxCjG2PGP9-1MZsf4obh3_HBLh3RQxC5bNGERT2Jgo1qZgrBtl968yYg4dRJ7nSIPzjfhpj7-Ev7dvsthNJEG2Y5WLqWZ6ycYZuTN-a/s1600/Elliot+%25286%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAHOBlctuc9bRiWcmJpvpCSKcg7YzCdehwVC3DTpxCjG2PGP9-1MZsf4obh3_HBLh3RQxC5bNGERT2Jgo1qZgrBtl968yYg4dRJ7nSIPzjfhpj7-Ev7dvsthNJEG2Y5WLqWZ6ycYZuTN-a/s320/Elliot+%25286%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fly by Cuckoo - Elliot Montieth</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Digiscoped effort of the Cuckoo</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Without realising it we were already at the visitor centre again ranking
up 58 species across the afternoon we drew with the other team, although we got
Treecreeper and Great-Spotted Woodpecker which they didn't they managed to get
a Drake Garganey! We headed back to the BTO for a lovely BBQ for a bit of a
rest waiting to go out into Thetford Forest, within the hour we were in the
heart of the forest listening to the very knowledgeable Greg Conway an expert
on Nightjar ringing! The purpose of the evening wasn't just to see a Nightjar
but to GPS tag a Nightjar to work out their wintering grounds in the
Sub-Saharan Region, after the nets were set and the tape was played (Grey has a
licence), we went away to let the Nightjars get near the nets, after waiting we
were rewarded with 2 Nightjars flying over our heads and churring away as well!
But in the distance Paul Staincliffe managed to pin-point the faint call of a
Long-eared Owl! The bird called closer later, this wasn't a bird I was
expecting to hear or see on the trip! After being distracted by that, we came
back to find Grey Conway had caught a first-summer NIGHTJAR! This was a lifer
for me number #285! After watching this bird being processed and many photos
taken we watched it fly off into the twilight sky! It was 11:30pm when we got
to the campsite to be woken up at around 4:30am the following morning so we all
got to bed as quickly as possible to try and get some more sleep.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 18pt;">Day 3<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">We woke up early again, and headed out towards Landguard Bird
Observatory near Felixstowe, with an hour bus journey there was plenty of time
to catch a few more winks of sleep before we arrived. One time I woke up to
find everyone asleep on the bus! We arrived at Landguard around 6am to be
greeted by Andy Clements who was going to spend the morning with us, at first
we couldn't see much due to the sea mist covering the Felixstowe Docks as well,
we were given brief history to Landguard Bird Obs and with it use be an army
base, then we did some Sea-watching which resulted in 7 Dark-bellied Brent
geese and 6 Little Terns, both species I didn't expect to see this trip either,
then we moved on to the moth traps, there were a lot of moths within the traps
my highlights were seeing my first Small-Elephant Hawkmoth and an unseasonal
Pearly Underwing which was also a moth lifer for me. After being shown their Heligoland
trap, it was time for lunch which included Digestive biscuits and Prawn
Cocktail crisps! After talking to the warden Chris Bridges who I've known for a
number of years it was time to walk around the Obs to see what we could find,
after an hour of searching we managed to find Common Terns, Ringed Plovers,
Starlings and hundreds of Linnets feeding in the gorse bushes. After walking
around the Obs, David Walsh took us into the Brecks to do some Breckland birding,
we arrived 30mins later at Sutton Common hoping to find Dartford Warbler, Woodlark
and Tree Pipit. As soon as we stepped out of the mini bus we were already
watching a Dartford Warbler with food going to and from its nest, I'd only had previous
views of Dartfords at RSPB Arne in Dorset, despite the heat haze we all got
brilliant views, after walking around we picked up a Stonechat singing its
heart out on top of a pine tree. Just before we got back into our minibus Ben
and Paul managed to </span><span style="font-size: 18px;">pinpoint</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> a Woodlark singing away in the skies above us,
after getting distant views of this bird, we moved onto a very special site.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBIiVg54G5WmoShBx_7gZf9peAR6cyJITAgfsdIGcNrd2qPrJUQ0tYKuy3RQj7pRRwssGQNCFTGJuaHui91qNxvEibW_u1s0Oyd8fNwxbtAjAX5hMCpf1pNZekgyAG0Rye9zzrEuuhAGjq/s1600/IMG_0377.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBIiVg54G5WmoShBx_7gZf9peAR6cyJITAgfsdIGcNrd2qPrJUQ0tYKuy3RQj7pRRwssGQNCFTGJuaHui91qNxvEibW_u1s0Oyd8fNwxbtAjAX5hMCpf1pNZekgyAG0Rye9zzrEuuhAGjq/s320/IMG_0377.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dartford Warbler - Mya Bambrick <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 18px;">©</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">David Walsh took is to a site where there was a breeding pair of
Redstarts, I'd only ever seen a female so to see the male was amazing, due to
this being a rare breeding bird I'm not going to publicise the location of the
nest mainly due to the fact of I had no idea where we were!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My digiscoped effort of the Male bird</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Male Redstart - Mya Bambrick</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">We then headed off to RSPB Boyton Marsh in search of Turtle Dove which
if we saw one would be another lifer for me! After searching for 30 minutes and
no look of finding these birds, Max checked Birdguides and saw that about 5
minutes before 2 Drake Garganey had been seen, we ran down there but we didn't
have time due to us having pre-booked lunch at a lovely pub, that wasn't the
only bad news, 3 people in our group had seen a pair of Turtle Doves fly past
them! You can't have everything your way. After having a massive lunch (I had a
huge homemade burger and huge chips) we left Mya and Josie as they headed home,
we got to the Campsite packed our bags and waited for our parents to pick us
up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Avocet - Elliot Montieth <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 18px;">©</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Woodlark - Elliot Montieth</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYafHzguD6vBglk2-Mp6lAAeYnaZif3AMWYopX_nK1L-OSeMRLCwzRLumXGT5zLK9oT0xqs0WulVl7Bpfziz4DvL8U1T_M2oI87NAvEj3V5MB5v_nZmu9Z9Ui3QK_JxfojfWzSSsZ-iHm0/s1600/Elliot+%252811%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYafHzguD6vBglk2-Mp6lAAeYnaZif3AMWYopX_nK1L-OSeMRLCwzRLumXGT5zLK9oT0xqs0WulVl7Bpfziz4DvL8U1T_M2oI87NAvEj3V5MB5v_nZmu9Z9Ui3QK_JxfojfWzSSsZ-iHm0/s320/Elliot+%252811%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2 Garganey - Elliot Montieth <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 18px;">©</span><span style="font-size: 12.8px;"> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">This weekend has been of my greatest experiences of my life, spending time
seeing awesome birds whilst making new friends at the same time. I'd like to
say thank you to Ieuan, Viola, Paul, Lee, Mike, Greg, Justin, Josie and the
Cameron Bespolka Trust in making this weekend so special for everyone! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Here is a link </span><span style="font-size: 18px;">everyone's</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> Twitter account: </span></span></div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">Ben Moyes : https://twitter.com/Ben_Moyes16</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">Sam-Pitt Miller : https://twitter.com/sampittmiller</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">Max Hellicar : https://twitter.com/MaxHellicar1</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">Josie Hewitt : https://twitter.com/josiethebirder</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">Elliot Montieth: https://twitter.com/Elliot_Montieth</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">Luke Nash : https://twitter.com/young_birder89</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">Paddy Lewin : https://twitter.com/P_Lewin26</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">Eleanor Morrison : https://twitter.com/EcoBittern</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">Amy Hall :https://twitter.com/wildlifebloga</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">Zach Haynes : https://twitter.com/nerdboy386</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">Dannte : https://twitter.com/wildinLDN</span></span></li>
</ul>
Toby Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10460894272214119675noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6708943715748155563.post-897257014647195572016-05-21T21:32:00.002+01:002016-05-21T21:32:39.034+01:00PWC 2016 April totalsSorry for this late post, as my GCSE exams have now started (4 German, 1 Biology, 1 Chemistry and 1 English already done)<br />
<br />
Wow what a month it's been, with all these Spring Migrants coming through, I've picked up some unusual and new species for the patch this month, highlights have included; Osprey, Grasshopper Warbler, Whimbrel, Wheatear and Willow Warbler.<br />
<br />
Here are the results from my March records on both Under 25 league and Midlands league<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigudqbwu0-h69MDnMMxGzKlpXBwt5UE3WY2Gv7s-eJsWK69LZgbLCuozO-Y7X9R4P-HelW5s2SOELXMvML53uQdgRsUduWMjNIuh5qP1APWhqP3hT5Gz0FlWO41YG9SXMFNwOXkccctM7J/s1600/mIDLANDS.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigudqbwu0-h69MDnMMxGzKlpXBwt5UE3WY2Gv7s-eJsWK69LZgbLCuozO-Y7X9R4P-HelW5s2SOELXMvML53uQdgRsUduWMjNIuh5qP1APWhqP3hT5Gz0FlWO41YG9SXMFNwOXkccctM7J/s320/mIDLANDS.png" width="308" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Midlands Results</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiv4egU3rqlbpCcIaO_eT-LkQOPrWMeHRU8p0J3g9BsKGo1XZCX0BoJtRc_hTGQtIabw3eEeNm_PDI4ly-FMAxTN5_tm0O1ICny8-aEFUVaujPP8P9ad9WqCrA0YVlhmD-bN31OPOI0u-z/s1600/Under+25.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiv4egU3rqlbpCcIaO_eT-LkQOPrWMeHRU8p0J3g9BsKGo1XZCX0BoJtRc_hTGQtIabw3eEeNm_PDI4ly-FMAxTN5_tm0O1ICny8-aEFUVaujPP8P9ad9WqCrA0YVlhmD-bN31OPOI0u-z/s320/Under+25.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Under 25 results<br />
<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: blue;">Mute Swan</span>: 1 record this month of 2 birds flying E on the 1st<br />
<br />
Greylag Goose: 10 records this month with 7 birds being the highest count of the month at the 'Pond'<br />
<br />
Mallard: 11 records this month with around 30 birds present throughout the month, but decreasing slightly as we went through the month<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;"><b>Tufted Duck</b></span>: Two birds were present on the 'pond' on the 9th<br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">Red-legged Partridge</span>: One record of 4 birds present in a cover crop field at Shoby on the 30th<br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">Grey Partridge</span>: Quite surprising record of two birds heard calling near Shoby on the 1st, good to know that there is more than one pair around<br />
<br />
Pheasant: Resident species on the patch with 5 birds seen most trips around the patch this month<br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">Grey Heron</span>: 1 record this month of a single bird seen flying away from the 'pond' in a Easterly direction, probably same bird I've seen throughout this year so far.<br />
<br />
<b style="color: red;">Red Kite</b>: One record of a low-flying bird going W-E over my head on the 19th, already this year has been the best for this species on the patch, it's great to see them roaming around a bit more now<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjJKwXj42AIJfqNgwTdUp2kfpZFKncax5jzYXzaH8qiSiMw2viJW2TwCHza-styA7mTJRMGE_aRMpXOJz050Bqy0s2lcTapxdU4PGrXVbIaHBUGP0r6kX59Tnce56ihJXqiQcGhcAO-Jre/s1600/IMG_0596.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjJKwXj42AIJfqNgwTdUp2kfpZFKncax5jzYXzaH8qiSiMw2viJW2TwCHza-styA7mTJRMGE_aRMpXOJz050Bqy0s2lcTapxdU4PGrXVbIaHBUGP0r6kX59Tnce56ihJXqiQcGhcAO-Jre/s320/IMG_0596.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red Kite from the 19th</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
Sparrowhawk: A 3 records this month, all sightings being single birds, with 2 of the records being a male bird and a female bird was seen on the 15th<br />
<br />
Buzzard: 6 Records this month with 6 birds being the highest count of the month on the 12th<br />
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<b style="color: red;">OSPREY</b>: This is by far <b style="text-decoration: underline;">one</b> of the best birds i'll get on the patch this year, after only seeing a high-flying individual 2 years ago in September, I had the first bird on the 6th, this bird was missing a secondary feather. Then on the 9th another bird flew over and a lot closer too! This bird wasn't missing any feathers, then on the 16th ANOTHER bird flew over with a blue ring on it's foot! Probably from Rutland. To have one Osprey was amazing but to have 3 is incredible!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkYPjLah6mxq1oFvgjr9Ypx2a93vKATljKixzcKNdOuGmPM62f4FFCp5t_ElD7xmgORvbigdszFV2R8tPbenH-8hMp43HooAR-80zUTNehe4bYq2HRp2IeVhpIQJop5MGEWD60VvIC3ZvT/s1600/IMG_0743.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkYPjLah6mxq1oFvgjr9Ypx2a93vKATljKixzcKNdOuGmPM62f4FFCp5t_ElD7xmgORvbigdszFV2R8tPbenH-8hMp43HooAR-80zUTNehe4bYq2HRp2IeVhpIQJop5MGEWD60VvIC3ZvT/s320/IMG_0743.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Osprey from the 9th</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Moorhen: 5 records this month, with 4 birds present at the 'pond' on the 17th<br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Lapwing</span>: An amazing 7 records this month due to 2 males spending most of the month displaying to one another across a field, then that field got drilled with barley but they left a patch, I'm pleased to say one of the Males stayed and has got a mate!<br />
<br />
<b style="color: red;">WHIMBREL</b>: For anyone who knows my patch will know this is highly unlikely speices, but I had a single bird call and fly off in a Northern direction on the 30th, this is also a LIFER for me! I don't think I'll get a lifer off my patch for while!<br />
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Black-headed Gull: 3 records this month of flocks of 30 birds moving through with Common Gulls too<br />
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Common Gull: 4 records this month with numbers varying from 10-40 strong throughout the month<br />
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Lesser Black-backed Gull: 3 records of small flocks (c5) flying around the paddocks at the start of the month<br />
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Feral Pigeon: I've only just realised that I haven't added this species to the list! This is a resident species with around 4 birds present throughout the year<br />
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Stock Dove: 12 records this month with flocks 20 strong, which for me is very good!<br />
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Woodpigeon: Around 200+ birds present around the patch throughout the year<br />
<br />
Collared Dove: A few pairs are lingering around the village, highest count being 6 birds present on the 21st<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">Barn Owl</span>: One bird was present hunting around some grassy meadows on the 2nd<br />
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Little Owl: As the breeding season commences I haven't heard many Little Owls this month with only one record this month on the 2nd heard calling at 11pm<br />
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Green Woodpecker: 2 records this month with 2 males heard 'yaffeling' on the 1st being the highest count<br />
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Great Spotted Woodpecker: 11 records this month with up to 4 males drumming around the patch on the 6th<br />
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Kestrel: 2 records this month, both coming from their breeding location, only seen the male, still awaiting the female bird to arrive<br />
<br />
Magpie: 8 records this month, the highest count being 7 birds feeding in one paddock on the 15th<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">Jay</span>: One record this month of 2 birds seen flying towards one of the local woods from the 'pond' on the 1st<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbMEijdO2knfYXPftbgFLioLuUv5TxPIRN1W9ZGvDV-73YvUcOuVYOiN7EwEtQeiMyYCLBhm9GCfR2eOrPD4WYNUEdoSsCK0_yyANxxmQIEyvV-RzpnvEQJjbI0ZYADL5xZIINCYkr2e9M/s1600/twitter+%25281%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbMEijdO2knfYXPftbgFLioLuUv5TxPIRN1W9ZGvDV-73YvUcOuVYOiN7EwEtQeiMyYCLBhm9GCfR2eOrPD4WYNUEdoSsCK0_yyANxxmQIEyvV-RzpnvEQJjbI0ZYADL5xZIINCYkr2e9M/s320/twitter+%25281%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 2 Jays from the 1st </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Jackdaw: 200+ birds present on the 23rd at a roost being the highest count this month<br />
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Rook: 50 birds present around the patch throughout the month<br />
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Carrion Crow: Up to 30+ birds seen one the 12th being the highest count this month<br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Raven</span>: One record this month of a bird flying north through my village on the 1st<br />
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Goldcrest: 6 records this month with 5 birds in a flock down at Shoby on the 4th being the highest count in one place<br />
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Blue Tit: 13 records this month, with 8 birds in my garden on the 16th being the highest count this month<br />
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Great Tit: 12 records this month 5 birds in my garden on the 12th being the highest count<br />
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Coal Tit: 9 records this month, with 3 birds present in my garden on the 12th being the highest count<br />
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Long-tailed Tit: Only 4 records this month, with all records being single birds<br />
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Skylark: 12 records this month on the patch, with 7 birds singing on the 30th being the highest count<br />
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<b style="color: red;">Sand Martin</b>: A new species for the patch, with 7 birds seen flying over the 'pond' on the 8th, this is a species I've wanted on the patch for many many years<br />
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Swallow: 12 records this month with their numbers increasing throughout the month, with up to 6 males seen flying around the patch on the 30th<br />
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House Martin: People who know me know I'm mad for House Martin's, so when the first pair arrived on the 16th I was so happy, but due to bad weather no more birds turned up for the rest of the month<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgJCbW4BD74szWCP3YFdLlTW526ynJFEnmsKYmgQS8HOtjKxOSaud-GurWF8a2FsVS9SifLk6jCPPe1RJ_Y_oqRMH8xRpHhHGb0Jv58DBBDY3RRHCRVF_bBo3ZYt1HGebMkAJun9KEbTnj/s1600/Twitter+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgJCbW4BD74szWCP3YFdLlTW526ynJFEnmsKYmgQS8HOtjKxOSaud-GurWF8a2FsVS9SifLk6jCPPe1RJ_Y_oqRMH8xRpHhHGb0Jv58DBBDY3RRHCRVF_bBo3ZYt1HGebMkAJun9KEbTnj/s320/Twitter+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">House Martins</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
Chiffchaff: 11 records this month with 6 males heard singing at Shoby on the 11th being the highest count this month<br />
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<span style="color: red;">Willow Warbler</span>: Only the second Willow Warbler record on my patch on the 4th, also this bird was ringed but I couldn't get a good enough photo, also I thought this bird was a Chiff until it started calling!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5oPI7XFc9UuT0trTI5CVFtjn7MhUNK_GZYWNSgnHUj_AIXBhwvUIRFYA98Z8gU2mGKlK-c4rr4us9Kt-3X_-pFymkhDWoVMmk58rh7q-QzVdYeNRuK1kSsPP2p5ItvCsEU2CJsXWlN_E0/s1600/Willow+%25281%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5oPI7XFc9UuT0trTI5CVFtjn7MhUNK_GZYWNSgnHUj_AIXBhwvUIRFYA98Z8gU2mGKlK-c4rr4us9Kt-3X_-pFymkhDWoVMmk58rh7q-QzVdYeNRuK1kSsPP2p5ItvCsEU2CJsXWlN_E0/s320/Willow+%25281%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Ringed Willow Warbler from the 4th</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu8XphES4Emyc6Gw-PDQ9hyeisvWjkpQeY7Gvef2qN_hPe-MfRw0n3GNGFjbYjCQ54GGO_73KT8ndtQ9odWu_TVDW7S6ekW0FZ2_N-o4cWbo9j41vJPbaHThSIczjJI0z2lThsT4A8tEIj/s1600/Willow+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu8XphES4Emyc6Gw-PDQ9hyeisvWjkpQeY7Gvef2qN_hPe-MfRw0n3GNGFjbYjCQ54GGO_73KT8ndtQ9odWu_TVDW7S6ekW0FZ2_N-o4cWbo9j41vJPbaHThSIczjJI0z2lThsT4A8tEIj/s320/Willow+%25282%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ringed Willow Warbler from 4th</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
<br />
Blackcap; 6 records this month with up to 3 birds seen at one place at Shoby on the 8th<br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Lesser Whitethroat</span>: Not a very common bird on the patch in the summer, so I was happy to find this bird in some willows at Shoby on the 27th<br />
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Whitethroat: 5 records this month with 2 males setting up territories at Shoby, but only seen one female so far<br />
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<b style="color: red;">GRASSHOPPER WARBLER</b>: ANOTHER LIFER FOR ME ON THE PATCH THIS MONTH ! One bird was at first heard reeling at Shoby, after some patience the bird briefly came into view on the 24th ! This was a species that was on my list to see this year, didn't expect it to be on my patch!<br />
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Treecreeper: 2 records this month both coming from the spinny next to the Grain Dryer, there is a nest in the spinney but I'm yet to locate it! Both records have been individuals<br />
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Wren: 9 records this month with the highest count being 6 birds in my garden, presumably a full family making a visit to my garden on 12th<br />
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Starling: 8 records this month with the highest flock count being 52 birds on the 15th, with around c30 birds present throughout the month in the paddocks.<br />
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Blackbird: 11 records this month with 11 birds being the highest count down at Shoby on the 21st in a cover field<br />
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Fieldfare: 2 records this month both being single birds, my last record was on the 5th<br />
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Redwing: 2 records this month with 5 birds seen on the 5th being my last record of the 15-16 winter season<br />
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Song Thrush: 11 records this month with 4 birds seen near the grain dryer on the 31st being the highest count this month<br />
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Mistle Thrush: 7 records this month, all records being of a nesting pair in the village, sadly the nest was predated, and there is no sign of either of parents yet since<br />
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Robin: 10 records this month, 5 birds were seen in my garden on the 15th being the highest count this month<br />
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<span style="color: red;">Wheatear: </span>This was a target species for me, and I spent almost every morning in the Easter Holiday looking for them to find my first one on the 6th, I went on the find another 9 birds, being 6 records all together, the highest count was 3 birds seen on the 24th! This is by far my best year for Wheatear<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXwzf12MhxwD2hTN5jh9ax6FaNSuhfb6mL13jbqs_1HrZ_hCUf07NNWeeLnz9egcnX4bh0sWXdOXr5B33JIHf8oFIDjRUzoyl086X6PALFFf5vZDoI-f9HVxEmMghVNdyqZ1TXYGiIXkhY/s1600/Wheater1+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXwzf12MhxwD2hTN5jh9ax6FaNSuhfb6mL13jbqs_1HrZ_hCUf07NNWeeLnz9egcnX4bh0sWXdOXr5B33JIHf8oFIDjRUzoyl086X6PALFFf5vZDoI-f9HVxEmMghVNdyqZ1TXYGiIXkhY/s320/Wheater1+.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wheatear from the 17th</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Dunnock: 6 records this month, 4 birds were fighting in my garden on the 12th being the highest record in one place this month<br />
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House Sparrow: c50 birds were present around my village throughout this month, with c30 birds present at Shoby too<br />
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Tree Sparrow: 10 records this month all coming from the pair down at Shoby, seen at their nest location and surrounding hedgerows<br />
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Yellow Wagtail: 6 records this month, my first being 3 birds seen on the 16th, and the highest count being a passage roost of 17 birds on the 23rd! That's the highest ever count of Yellow Wags on the patch<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaa02znmRgXXXwzrX92s4OnrXl4L3t8GQ_QQNzxB7gmoUJjyDKCcxCdbwOSDcC2NXIZcbV_CZoDlqUqVW4ucgnVTjbXlMKAQLXM8NxfrFHGiZkYein0pKoW203dnPWkkr0l1PxUyfV7R89/s1600/Yellow+Wagtail+%252818%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaa02znmRgXXXwzrX92s4OnrXl4L3t8GQ_QQNzxB7gmoUJjyDKCcxCdbwOSDcC2NXIZcbV_CZoDlqUqVW4ucgnVTjbXlMKAQLXM8NxfrFHGiZkYein0pKoW203dnPWkkr0l1PxUyfV7R89/s320/Yellow+Wagtail+%252818%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yellow Wagtail from the 23rd</td></tr>
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Pied Wagtail (Yarrellii): 11 records this month of Pied Wags, with 7 birds present on the roof of the Grain Dryer on the 31st being the highest count<br />
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<b style="color: red;">White Wagtail (Alba)</b>: A single bird was seen amongst the 17 Yellow Wagtails on the 23rd, this is a species that I've only seen on Scilly, so to have one on my patch brought back some memories from last October!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwPPoQJzkc78arPLMwnvEUq4xhpXFCWJiLeI1_-EpZiPakByYSxnzW2HLwqPQFVY7y8woY_iIXhPh7_dcGCRNBV5qy94ffFwXNe9EoXEmHDvirVHfjYbr0Rdzd9wHOOTKg8oTEYTBAeA1W/s1600/Yellow+Wagtail+%252820%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwPPoQJzkc78arPLMwnvEUq4xhpXFCWJiLeI1_-EpZiPakByYSxnzW2HLwqPQFVY7y8woY_iIXhPh7_dcGCRNBV5qy94ffFwXNe9EoXEmHDvirVHfjYbr0Rdzd9wHOOTKg8oTEYTBAeA1W/s320/Yellow+Wagtail+%252820%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">White Wagtail from the 23rd</td></tr>
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Meadow Pipit: 12 records this month, all records came from the 1st-14th, so they'll all be passage birds, with the highest flock count being c30 birds in the paddocks near the my house<br />
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Brambling: 12 records this month with the highest count being 12 birds, the last record this year of Brambling was the 16th with a single female amongst 3 Chaffinch<br />
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Chaffinch: 13 records this month, with around 20 birds present all the time at the Grain dryer this month<br />
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Bullfinch: 5 records this month, with 4 birds seen on the 12th at Shoby<br />
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Greenfinch: 9 records this month, 6 birds were seen in my garden on the 1st<br />
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Linnet: 11 records this month, with only single birds ever been seen at once!<br />
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Lesser Redpoll: 4 records this month, of a single bird visiting my Grandads and my own garden from the 9th-17th<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_vTdgpCMcP929TiNT0VzvbrV4mwiOAy4enUeikGyd6u_bHM8QJnTqFniUlUh-3yShb_7xpDC_2U8zttD2lCI7ZtBfmxDt0ykmWX1U8nXR0FgqAtW3sQiMexe2FhyphenhyphenMaQg6rE-5MKXbjF5M/s1600/IMG_0004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_vTdgpCMcP929TiNT0VzvbrV4mwiOAy4enUeikGyd6u_bHM8QJnTqFniUlUh-3yShb_7xpDC_2U8zttD2lCI7ZtBfmxDt0ykmWX1U8nXR0FgqAtW3sQiMexe2FhyphenhyphenMaQg6rE-5MKXbjF5M/s320/IMG_0004.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lesser Redpoll from the 9th</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Goldfinch: 11 records this month, with around 30 birds present around the village all month<br />
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Siskin: 4 records this month of a single male bird, again visiting my Grandads and my own garden from the 4th-9th<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXXzEzMzxUr92o7M0Rkh-X6HGoaHajVRpXiF9Vfpb4t2FEmYWUvxSFX-ExX7AP0IzU6m8JemXCnBKZCfV4dfx2wT_5pi0_lLh6_knFEDyniBBWBO8qRyieyOHPisstE_QYUEfiG8EIRlSf/s1600/IMG_0651.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXXzEzMzxUr92o7M0Rkh-X6HGoaHajVRpXiF9Vfpb4t2FEmYWUvxSFX-ExX7AP0IzU6m8JemXCnBKZCfV4dfx2wT_5pi0_lLh6_knFEDyniBBWBO8qRyieyOHPisstE_QYUEfiG8EIRlSf/s320/IMG_0651.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Siskin from the 5th</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />Toby Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10460894272214119675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6708943715748155563.post-27520322042677246402016-04-15T17:02:00.000+01:002016-04-15T17:02:49.991+01:00World Osprey Week! (WOW)<span style="font-family: inherit;">From the 11th-15th of April, it is officially World Osprey Week, this is all about raising awareness of these magnificent, graceful birds. I go to school in Oakham and with Rutland Water literally on our doorstep, <a href="http://www.ospreys.org.uk/">Rutland Ospreys</a> came into school to celebrate this event at my school.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The plan was to have a Skype to call to other children/students from a school in Italy (<a href="http://www.ospreys.org.uk/omf_schools/istituto-comprensivo-5-grosseto/"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><span style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: none; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Istituto Comprensivo </span></a><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">5)</span> and a school in Gambia (</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;">Tanji Lower Basic School)</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> , there was 6 pupils from my school Catmose College, including myself we all had to do a little presentation on a certain part of the Ospreys and the projects trying to save them, I had to do a 1 minute presentation on the purpose of Satellite Tagging the Ospreys and what the data that we've collected shows about these birds, for example we have a much clearer view on where Rutland and other British Ospreys spend their winter and what migration paths they take.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgscxsoti_0vxwMTWrNYaqxgI9kGhTLbhkxoP1XJRvv_cGXVnCk40lx8jGgwQ-qjKwxwyiM-Pq0IuxeSNSNU9lBg4gVlRrCuelLwjaDP79KHOoD2wjl5_DkbvkTOcwYDgO53sVhUL-8q2lD/s1600/SKype-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgscxsoti_0vxwMTWrNYaqxgI9kGhTLbhkxoP1XJRvv_cGXVnCk40lx8jGgwQ-qjKwxwyiM-Pq0IuxeSNSNU9lBg4gVlRrCuelLwjaDP79KHOoD2wjl5_DkbvkTOcwYDgO53sVhUL-8q2lD/s320/SKype-web.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here is me talking to kids from Gambia and Italy</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">After our group from Catmose did their presentation, the children from Gambia had a poem to read to us all about the Ospreys that spend their winter in Gambia, then the children from Italy had a presentation on the Ospreys that are around where they live (Grosseto) and what they know about them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">This was a brilliant opportunity to talk to other kids from across the world despite having a few technical problems there were two common themes being talked about; Ospreys and the Natural World</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Yp4KlY-a-E2FT2Hc5wHHuISAV_6VLaQi4ebPLs3e2HMI5Da6pDJ8HgAlB28MNASte-jFRxSlTVd0H7_c9H9HINzjzjhpTrd-iQVt53cFHKNNJEW5Gd6H-muK7XLgIzqcxslGfs71i0i5/s1600/CATMOSE-SKYPE-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Yp4KlY-a-E2FT2Hc5wHHuISAV_6VLaQi4ebPLs3e2HMI5Da6pDJ8HgAlB28MNASte-jFRxSlTVd0H7_c9H9HINzjzjhpTrd-iQVt53cFHKNNJEW5Gd6H-muK7XLgIzqcxslGfs71i0i5/s320/CATMOSE-SKYPE-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Myself and the rest of the Catmose crew </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Please go and check out the Rutland Osprey website, also check out their webcams looking over one of the Osprey nests, with the female having only just laid her 3rd egg! </span><a href="http://www.ospreys.org.uk/">http://www.ospreys.org.uk/</a>Toby Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10460894272214119675noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6708943715748155563.post-31037858616163047582016-04-14T16:34:00.000+01:002016-04-14T16:34:03.984+01:00Great Grey Shrike at Warren HillsOn Sunday 11th April, my dad made the decision last minute for us to go and see a Great Grey Shrike at Warren Hills, as this bird had been seen for the last 3 days, normally in the county these birds are just moving through<br />
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So we headed off to Warren Hills, on the way we picked up my Granddad, all going for this lifer, when we arrived there was a few birders around, but the bird hadn't been seen for 15mins, typical we'd missed the bird by a matter of minutes! But after some extensive searching, I managed to pinpoint the Shrike, taking cover at the bottom of a bush sheltering from the gusty wind, within a few minutes this bird was showing off at the top of his/her's favourite perch, he was catching Bumble Bee's regularly (mainly Red-Tailed Bumbles), after watching were the bird was catching it's prey I moved further along the hedgerow, after some perseverance and waiting I got the shot I was looking for, a flight shot of this bird! After many failed attempts I got the shot I was looking for, even though the bird was around 130m away, it was an awesome bird to see! A lifer, county and year tick putting me at 282 as my life list, 192 for the county and 115 for the year!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBDVF-rUEgf3Of2kq3ZKAxBrv9MYw4qhdsKqAZL05uAoTpgNpthjR42NwKz2BnwqK46etOtuo0LtUW8uFc0xJCX4SFflHIu-W56c0q95yin-Vn-b16n-Yc1OPVRAgj8LZzhUnrpBZavfvK/s1600/twitter1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBDVF-rUEgf3Of2kq3ZKAxBrv9MYw4qhdsKqAZL05uAoTpgNpthjR42NwKz2BnwqK46etOtuo0LtUW8uFc0xJCX4SFflHIu-W56c0q95yin-Vn-b16n-Yc1OPVRAgj8LZzhUnrpBZavfvK/s320/twitter1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Great Grey Shrike on his lookout perch</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnKoY8a67lleDNfaHFormv9MlcqYbqrVCGuuRYQbQHikTovmdWFW37a_4dtQkcttzdqyyNLvf1Dy7rkeB0lFB2oloDYsJk0LHBvaDWQHXy9iSCsetB_8PYmLv1GuN0oX-w6sG5DuJQCCUR/s1600/twitter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnKoY8a67lleDNfaHFormv9MlcqYbqrVCGuuRYQbQHikTovmdWFW37a_4dtQkcttzdqyyNLvf1Dy7rkeB0lFB2oloDYsJk0LHBvaDWQHXy9iSCsetB_8PYmLv1GuN0oX-w6sG5DuJQCCUR/s320/twitter.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The flight shot I was looking for! </td></tr>
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Toby Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10460894272214119675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6708943715748155563.post-36874446864668309102016-03-31T21:07:00.000+01:002016-03-31T21:07:35.883+01:00PWC 2016 March TotalsFeb excels!!!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhThpBijfpSywhQEJezjJDrprOOwNd9H89tiSOYfPOdYR4by5vB1te9AD19r71ZXb5MEAuEEWLz3nIWuZ9mdD8tQlwP8DmwecgwlzMHdnNQcPb6EWVnqNyeLdMqwsnJ5Yrr8fOsLlWPftCJ/s1600/Capture+25.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhThpBijfpSywhQEJezjJDrprOOwNd9H89tiSOYfPOdYR4by5vB1te9AD19r71ZXb5MEAuEEWLz3nIWuZ9mdD8tQlwP8DmwecgwlzMHdnNQcPb6EWVnqNyeLdMqwsnJ5Yrr8fOsLlWPftCJ/s320/Capture+25.JPG" width="316" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Midlands Mini League, with friends Sam (@birdboysam) and Jack </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie5Husk_BkJ73VE77pBc4nR3PErXHf3_ISA_HV-Z9SdkUX-FzrHVaicmiGNZr9-cgMoJ4rdxvgziSEg7LwEfhkXpEqgy4hzVOwY58c3crHYj2PrPHOf1MZHC6XttenN_-_x37hPheo2oWP/s1600/Capture.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie5Husk_BkJ73VE77pBc4nR3PErXHf3_ISA_HV-Z9SdkUX-FzrHVaicmiGNZr9-cgMoJ4rdxvgziSEg7LwEfhkXpEqgy4hzVOwY58c3crHYj2PrPHOf1MZHC6XttenN_-_x37hPheo2oWP/s320/Capture.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Under 25 Mini league, with friends Sam (@birdboysam) and Jack</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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March has been a very eventful month on the patch, with highlights being Tufted Duck, Blackcap, Sand Martin, Swallow, Red Kite and a very unexpected Harris Hawk<br />
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Mute Swan : This year already has been the best EVER for Mute Swan on the patch, with 13 birds flying W at dusk on the 11th over the 'pond'<br />
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Greylag Goose: A resident bird on the patch in small numbers, the highest count this month was 4 birds seen at the 'pond' on the 11th<br />
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Mallard: A resident flock of between 10-30 birds at the pond, 15 birds were counted on the 'pond' on the 11th at dusk<br />
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<b style="color: red;">Tufted Duck</b>: A pair were seen on the 'pond' on the 16th, this is the first record of Tufted Duck on the patch, then probably the same pair on the 29th at the 'pond'<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgix1r9O7uZSXofEG7WIspA_mhPfPj_NUNhF3jaEBK-iloTaFwQLOMVWP4r4t6wsZTa0Dom4O8Us0D9FB96_46xgzKI1eSs-r4iSfJzQ4dWACAEt8KiC72X2flqTf4A0-tfmyIGXLCJs5z2/s1600/Tuftie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgix1r9O7uZSXofEG7WIspA_mhPfPj_NUNhF3jaEBK-iloTaFwQLOMVWP4r4t6wsZTa0Dom4O8Us0D9FB96_46xgzKI1eSs-r4iSfJzQ4dWACAEt8KiC72X2flqTf4A0-tfmyIGXLCJs5z2/s320/Tuftie.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tufted Ducks</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Red-legged Partridge: Resident but <u>very</u> scarce on the patch, 1 bird was heard calling then later flushed accidently on the 6th just outside the village<br />
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Pheasant: A resident species on the patch, with 3 birds seen on the 9th at the 'pond'<br />
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Grey Heron: 3 records this month of Grey Heron, only been one bird presumably the same bird each time feeding at the 'pond'.<br />
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<span style="color: #3d85c6;">Red Kite</span>: 2 records this month, which is very unusual, the first record was a single bird being mobbed by 2 Carrion Crows on the 14th, and 2 birds flying E between Old Dalby Wood and the 'pond' on the 19th<br />
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Sparrowhawk: Been very elusive this month with only 2 records (that I've seen, as my dad had one in the garden) the sightings being a juvenile bird at Saxelbye Hall on the 15th and 23rd<br />
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<b><span style="color: lime;">Harris Hawk</span>:</b> One bird I never imagined to get on the patch, one bird flew south of the grain dyrer early on, on the 30th, this bird could be the bird last seen back in November at Cossington Meadows, this bird had no bells or jessie's to distinguish where the bird had come from.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWuUn2MPpaYLnyfHiCPA3CL0zYQBZlhuF_jl-eaU-sEW22J4IXejs9UFgEQJeWFhcJMEiZpywu5nbfLMVRwz4bwlqdd5Yf15wRg0DCjZ8EDdDkEVXW6hXB9X6-y-WENDjsxI2_S29v_tp7/s1600/HArris+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWuUn2MPpaYLnyfHiCPA3CL0zYQBZlhuF_jl-eaU-sEW22J4IXejs9UFgEQJeWFhcJMEiZpywu5nbfLMVRwz4bwlqdd5Yf15wRg0DCjZ8EDdDkEVXW6hXB9X6-y-WENDjsxI2_S29v_tp7/s320/HArris+%25282%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photos of the Harris Hawk being mobbed by local corvids on the 30th</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbTZ5b9Q2A9qJ1UZwCWNSch8t4XAUZ-h_QJcPUZUyCejEX5KNdnlurZSbhdZXYl3bK59s_WK3tXISoxJp1mK3VD6-EQ1WrfsF4wJv1c9V2rLo2W06LvVN3jDG__LZ21XflOrrdvElCi8d6/s1600/HArris+%25284%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbTZ5b9Q2A9qJ1UZwCWNSch8t4XAUZ-h_QJcPUZUyCejEX5KNdnlurZSbhdZXYl3bK59s_WK3tXISoxJp1mK3VD6-EQ1WrfsF4wJv1c9V2rLo2W06LvVN3jDG__LZ21XflOrrdvElCi8d6/s320/HArris+%25284%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Photos of the Harris Hawk being mobbed by local corvids on the 30th<br /></td></tr>
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</td></tr>
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Buzzard: A resident species on the patch, 1 bird was seen soaring around one of the local woods on the 6th<br />
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Moorhen: A resident species on the patch in small numbers, with 3 birds seen on the 9th at the 'pond'<br />
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Black-headed Gull: Passage bird through the patch throughout the year, with 100+ birds flying over on the 5th, presumably coming from a roost<br />
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Common Gull: Passage bird through the patch throughout the year, with 20+ birds seen flying amongst the Black -headed Gulls on the 5th<br />
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Lesser Black-Backed Gull: One record of 5 birds soaring high over the village on the 20th<br />
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Herring Gull: 3 birds feeding at the Stud on the 23rd<br />
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Stock Dove: A resident species in small flock numbers (1-20), with 10+ birds amongst a corvid flock in the paddocks near the stud on the 9th<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu22Tw27qTGVN4MGeZpsIeVhz1FHyBhCU8Rlb_JJ-i-zAJfc73xBUP8OPbwWbF5UE9MdDrZW05SJnjcmbyIdg9eq2Uv4vOZ2mDvJkcZKe10V3CAoPCgcmwYzPJjoT0PHfDOZw0o-PJn6aa/s1600/Blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu22Tw27qTGVN4MGeZpsIeVhz1FHyBhCU8Rlb_JJ-i-zAJfc73xBUP8OPbwWbF5UE9MdDrZW05SJnjcmbyIdg9eq2Uv4vOZ2mDvJkcZKe10V3CAoPCgcmwYzPJjoT0PHfDOZw0o-PJn6aa/s320/Blog.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stock Dove from the 9th</td></tr>
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Woodpigeon: A resident species with flocks between 50-200 usually seen around the patch throughout the year<br />
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Collared Dove: A few pairs linger around the village, later on in the month, they started to pair up, with 4 pairs being the highest count on the 25th<br />
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Green Woodpecker: One bird has been heard 'yaffeling' near the stud, yet to be seen but heard on 4 occasions, then a female seen at Saxelbye Wood on the 31st<br />
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Great Spotted Woodpecker: 3 birds was the highest count 5th, with males heard most mornings drumming on their favorite trees<br />
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Kestrel: 5 records this month, at 2 separate breeding locations, with one pair already checking out nesting sites!<br />
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Magpie: 9 records this month, with 7 birds being the highest count in Saxelbye Hall on the 25th<br />
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<b style="color: red;">Jay</b>: First of the year with a bird heard then later seen at Saxelbye Hall on the 12th, this is one of only a few locations out of their breeding area<br />
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Jackdaw: A resident bird on the patch throughout the year with 200+ birds seen at their roost sites most night in the woods<br />
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Rook: A resident bird on the patch throughout the year with 300+ birds seen at their roost sites most night in the woods<br />
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Carrion Crow:A resident species on the patch, with 10+ birds seen at the stud through the month<br />
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Raven: 2 records this month, both single birds one record on the 15th and the other on 25th, probably the same bird<br />
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Goldcrest: 8 records this month, the highest count was 3 birds at Saxelbye Wood, there has been a definite influx of these birds around the patch<br />
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Blue Tit: A resident species on the patch, with 7 birds present in the garden on the 14th being the highest count<br />
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Great Tit: A resident species on the patch, with 4 birds present in the garden on the 25th being the highest count at one time<br />
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Coal Tit; A resident species on the patch, with 3 birds present at the grain dryer on the 12th<br />
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Skylark: A resident species on the patch, a massive influx in Skylark on the patch this month as birds are starting to pair up, the highest count being 14 birds on the 25th<br />
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Swallow: One bird was heard then seen flying N at the bottom of Saxelbye Park on the 25th, this is the earliest record on the patch and the 4th record for the county this year, then 2 birds present on the 31st in the village<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_5mfTEOkwlll914eRN5yyJwL69g2De9BElcHRVK_agEiZWtHsmEwpj_AC5WEPaHseg9gXK-Wz6BECDD772Z9ywxAir9-d9ZfhcBO0_WCTDasJ2SkBTIO-TBl84phV6VcIpmxKa49AFfRK/s1600/Swallow+%25283%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_5mfTEOkwlll914eRN5yyJwL69g2De9BElcHRVK_agEiZWtHsmEwpj_AC5WEPaHseg9gXK-Wz6BECDD772Z9ywxAir9-d9ZfhcBO0_WCTDasJ2SkBTIO-TBl84phV6VcIpmxKa49AFfRK/s320/Swallow+%25283%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Swallow seen on 25th just at the bottom of Saxelbye Park</td></tr>
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Long-tailed Tit: A resident species on the patch, with a flock 5 being the highest count, and many pairs seen carrying nesting material, yet to find the nests though<br />
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Chiffchaff: One bird was heard singing at Shoby on the 26th, this bird had a pollen 'horn' bigger than it's bill #rhinobird!!! With 5 birds present at Shoby at the end of the month heard singing<br />
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Blackcap: 1st record of the month was a Male bird in the garden on the 9th<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2LURbwRNIJowZEdpyL98DiWg3nIdQIaEmZrZ_gcfQCcWA4mN2a26kO6fpYODgUBQPzF2MOmvAW21F9idXMn0-xGxKKrKfSlGhNsdEXgESdOO1yYERIRFduAFAllGNu3LO-MUlUeqoUL_8/s1600/Blackcap+2+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2LURbwRNIJowZEdpyL98DiWg3nIdQIaEmZrZ_gcfQCcWA4mN2a26kO6fpYODgUBQPzF2MOmvAW21F9idXMn0-xGxKKrKfSlGhNsdEXgESdOO1yYERIRFduAFAllGNu3LO-MUlUeqoUL_8/s320/Blackcap+2+.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blackcap</td></tr>
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Nuthatch: 2 records this month, with 1 bird feeding in the garden on the 9th, and one heard calling in Saxelbye hall on the 25th<br />
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Treecreeper: 3 records this month with 3 birds at the Grain Dryer on the 6th being the highest count<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSwiXhonfoTtjcUqRGm-ROTWkpfAivAWlpYGZRslIGqc1t_5VPjeyNa1Ouka_9jWF_x8IbhcEaeJE3eGLLNBrDjWynidF63Qv7iQp4pwtLu77aCiWvb34xhkpEjbPMQzWqB_FnN5L3icnp/s1600/twitter+%25285%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSwiXhonfoTtjcUqRGm-ROTWkpfAivAWlpYGZRslIGqc1t_5VPjeyNa1Ouka_9jWF_x8IbhcEaeJE3eGLLNBrDjWynidF63Qv7iQp4pwtLu77aCiWvb34xhkpEjbPMQzWqB_FnN5L3icnp/s320/twitter+%25285%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Treecreeper</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Wren: A resident species on the patch with 4 birds chasing each other round the garden on the 1st<br />
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Starling: A resident flock of between 50-100 birds present feeding at the Stud throughout the month<br />
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Blackbird: A resident species on the patch with 7 birds feeding in the orchard on the 13th being the highest count<br />
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Fieldfare: A massive influx at the start of the month 300+ counted on the 5th, since then numbers have fallen to around 20+ moving through<br />
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Song Thrush: An influx of Song Thrush throughout this month with 12 birds present at Saxelbye Hall on the 19th<br />
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Redwing: A decrease throughout this month as these birds migrate to Scandinavia, with the highest count being 60+ at Shoby on the 20th<br />
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Mistle Thrush: 2 birds present on the 12th, then records of single birds present throughout the month<br />
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Robin: A resident species on the patch, with 6 birds present singing throughout the month within the village<br />
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Dunnock: A resident species with 7 birds present on the 12th in the garden<br />
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House Sparrow: A resident 70 birds present throughout the month in the village, plus 20 birds at Shoby present<br />
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Tree Sparrow: 5 birds present on the patch on the 30th, with 2 pairs established territories, this is the highest count of breeding pairs ever on the patch, hopefully this is a sign of the population increasing<br />
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Grey Wagtail: One record of a this species seen on the 20th flying North<br />
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Pied Wagtail: A definite increase on this species, with 27 birds present at a roost at the stud on the 27th<br />
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Meadow pipit: Another bird increasing as migration carries on, with 15+ birds moving through the patch on the 27th<br />
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Brambling: As expected numbers decreased due to migration, but 15 birds present on the 1st, with 3 birds present on the 31st<br />
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Chaffinch: Flocks of c30 birds seen along the fields near the grain dryer throughout the month<br />
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Bullfinch: 5 birds present at Shoby on the 29th, this was the highest count on the patch<br />
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Greenfinch: Good numbers of these birds around the patch with a flock of c10 seen near the 'pond' on the 12th<br />
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Linnet: Good numbers of this species seen across the patch with 5 birds present on the 30th, with single birds seen across the month<br />
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Goldfinch: 15 birds seen at Shoby towards the end of the month, setting up residency in the local hedgerows<br />
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Siskin: 2 records this month, with 2 birds seen flying North on the 14th, over the garden<br />
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Yellowhammer: 12 birds seen at the stud on the 30th, feeding on the seeds for the local horses<br />
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Reed Bunting: More birds seen this month with 4 males singing at Shoby on the 31st<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV1OwdAJ5K36Sfk2pcILYpMxQp6z1o_WJ5oyOWP8RQvP0Odzjz7OmI0S2FQ8P1ueAa2c6diUjJ32w_TC9HUy65hwIlIQXYaA4jEvZJsXBe_4UNMdJGz8r6NrMV9ruXT3ivYVfM5RqSCGIu/s1600/result.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="50" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV1OwdAJ5K36Sfk2pcILYpMxQp6z1o_WJ5oyOWP8RQvP0Odzjz7OmI0S2FQ8P1ueAa2c6diUjJ32w_TC9HUy65hwIlIQXYaA4jEvZJsXBe_4UNMdJGz8r6NrMV9ruXT3ivYVfM5RqSCGIu/s320/result.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All species new for the year</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmcSlSoMFEygs4L3T6QfsXKqqXoqLadFMDasAHnB76cMAKqfH8vGaObV5VSDN0WVIRRWIAFh0EM2mT_LMfz6oqHNyYMqvHcJOZqLKnF7dboW-yo4Qg_n0MU7jwSY3GbTrM-T28MZrOjAZK/s1600/result+2%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmcSlSoMFEygs4L3T6QfsXKqqXoqLadFMDasAHnB76cMAKqfH8vGaObV5VSDN0WVIRRWIAFh0EM2mT_LMfz6oqHNyYMqvHcJOZqLKnF7dboW-yo4Qg_n0MU7jwSY3GbTrM-T28MZrOjAZK/s1600/result+2%255D.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Final score and result for the month</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />Toby Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10460894272214119675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6708943715748155563.post-47138142564887295172016-03-05T19:29:00.000+00:002016-03-05T19:29:13.593+00:00PWC 2016 FebruaryTotalsThe first 2 spreadsheets show my score compared to the other people, the first spreadsheet is the category (NGB/AFON Under 25) and the second category is Midlands League<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRtRMa_TD2AqL7iFPqyAr4fA-obDODbRk2BjM_d_WqNCYyQO9mZW45I5ihDPrjXZggl6U6Y5LIQSIedAkgFWZ1CGziJohBn2dX5wzyb2VaAAvfZbLU586nB7C8di9C2GZ0UUdDqAbOqtfo/s1600/Midlands+Points+Jan+16.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRtRMa_TD2AqL7iFPqyAr4fA-obDODbRk2BjM_d_WqNCYyQO9mZW45I5ihDPrjXZggl6U6Y5LIQSIedAkgFWZ1CGziJohBn2dX5wzyb2VaAAvfZbLU586nB7C8di9C2GZ0UUdDqAbOqtfo/s400/Midlands+Points+Jan+16.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Here is my standing in red, and my rival (friend) Sam who i'm competing against (Midlands League)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwNGY8yLqVh4Ba3rSTbFoIa4Tse6uGZYJnGs26sg4Bb1huS0T16k6eNp6_lRYnOitBu_W22WJqhAr5CZYkHSxYEEYvGYscDnf04o-LtBdoeq8Bxl9iVGMUW5nKZxMTMnKXg0nv-2JgCb8L/s1600/Standings+for+U25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwNGY8yLqVh4Ba3rSTbFoIa4Tse6uGZYJnGs26sg4Bb1huS0T16k6eNp6_lRYnOitBu_W22WJqhAr5CZYkHSxYEEYvGYscDnf04o-LtBdoeq8Bxl9iVGMUW5nKZxMTMnKXg0nv-2JgCb8L/s400/Standings+for+U25.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here is my standing in red, and my rival (friend) Sam who i'm competing against (Under 25 League)<br />
<br />
<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So February has been a more quiet month compared to January, with highlights being Stonechat, Lapwing, Raven, Marsh Tit, Bramblings and Jay.<br />
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<b style="color: red;">Mute Swan: </b>6 birds flew E on the 18th, this is one of a handful of records of Mute Swan on the Patch<br />
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Greylag Goose: The highest count was 7 birds flying round the village on the 18th, but 2 birds have regularly been seen hanging round at the 'pond'<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLQ1VCmaWYUCJq-InkVnxCgI-ZewLxJ8kacObLCBYf4HkxH1ZS5GmturQXQ4oQbYEVw6igdrfbHp7KZQil9vFi1K6XANeS6mqDqZBJ2w3G-ZX-s9wOA5MxsHaFMNr7bcBn6y8-ejqCbRUm/s1600/IMG_0082.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLQ1VCmaWYUCJq-InkVnxCgI-ZewLxJ8kacObLCBYf4HkxH1ZS5GmturQXQ4oQbYEVw6igdrfbHp7KZQil9vFi1K6XANeS6mqDqZBJ2w3G-ZX-s9wOA5MxsHaFMNr7bcBn6y8-ejqCbRUm/s320/IMG_0082.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">3 Greylag Geese at the 'pond' on the 28th</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Mallard: The usual c30 birds hanging round the 'pond' with 2 domestic mallards in there as well<br />
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Red-Legged Partridge: 1 bird was seen sulking along a hedgerow just outside Shoby on the 19th<br />
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Pheasant: A resident species on the Patch, the highest count being 6 birds in the paddocks near the Stud.<br />
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Sparrowhawk: Only 1 record this month, with a male bird flying through Saxelbye Park on the 21st<br />
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Buzzard: A resident species on the Patch, 2 birds was the highest count on the 7th, with one bird giving close views in the Paddocks near the Stud, which some of you might have seen photos on my Twitter Page<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhChBs5MwF87Xm6HgZcG5jfYF4R0yiJ26gSS-oHk5b6lmQ2cJU4hW5dzz454ngq3p-Dg4BN62avX_UnD6VLKjYHpl3kX8dRxE7yl6iDDc-tkoe-o5EJGz5MVppf2q5bHew9auDrHX7_Ihmg/s1600/IMG_0064.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhChBs5MwF87Xm6HgZcG5jfYF4R0yiJ26gSS-oHk5b6lmQ2cJU4hW5dzz454ngq3p-Dg4BN62avX_UnD6VLKjYHpl3kX8dRxE7yl6iDDc-tkoe-o5EJGz5MVppf2q5bHew9auDrHX7_Ihmg/s320/IMG_0064.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Buzzard</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggG88rFtL-5-84jDC2SG2NEnpOuLVLalCii9cnEGm_tGh9ZXRO8309kv5Epg-nWsf7WCULW-z9wndlSB-xUwFVenvWoim8h0RWYZ0M2ARcr8PsmPYfRgIi79DcFHZfvOztSVvRanErgxfN/s1600/IMG_0922.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggG88rFtL-5-84jDC2SG2NEnpOuLVLalCii9cnEGm_tGh9ZXRO8309kv5Epg-nWsf7WCULW-z9wndlSB-xUwFVenvWoim8h0RWYZ0M2ARcr8PsmPYfRgIi79DcFHZfvOztSVvRanErgxfN/s320/IMG_0922.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Buzzard</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Moorhen: 3 birds were present throughout the month at the 'pond' and 2 birds were seen at a different site in the 19th<br />
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Lapwing: 22 birds were seen feeding in a winter wheat field on the 28th on my way back from the Woodland Survey<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMjLm_cV3ZBTXoGXNn2Qb75rNvXcQQmYA0j6eCKlOoV9Ifsdsh4g_wZ64RrxZyiLflPiLhAdB9j8xu3h4jQKqJklCk1FVkTGw3BnRlTDnMHHOxSgA5saiT6lJfsQD3TQCIsKPCAuvY-2qH/s1600/IMG_0128.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMjLm_cV3ZBTXoGXNn2Qb75rNvXcQQmYA0j6eCKlOoV9Ifsdsh4g_wZ64RrxZyiLflPiLhAdB9j8xu3h4jQKqJklCk1FVkTGw3BnRlTDnMHHOxSgA5saiT6lJfsQD3TQCIsKPCAuvY-2qH/s320/IMG_0128.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Part of the Lapwing flock from the 28th</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
Black-headed Gull: 2 flocks both containing c40 birds in each flew over the patch on the 18th<br />
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Stock Dove: 8 birds were present in the paddocks near the Stud feeding with Starlings and Corvids on the 19th<br />
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Woodpigeon: A resident species on the Patch, the biggest flock contained 300+ birds on the 9th<br />
<br />
Stock Dove: 3 records this month with the biggest flock of 8+ birds feeding with 300+ corvids in the paddocks on the 19th<br />
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Collared Dove: A resident species on the patch, with 2 pairs being the highest count around the village on the 18th<br />
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Little Owl: A resident but a species that likes to keep itself hidden! With one record this month being one bird sat on a telegraph post on the 28th<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqy76os-U2UxV61xDzmXuPa8vst5gdTsbG41H5y2QBCWsxdux-PO_Q-uEiRiqVKhgUtL-pRxuVgccKfpVzH3sdgJLf4W5QijJKe76Ru0V0rAXidgy02waJiL-jBAwTaaqwbQ6Mbvn9caXB/s1600/IMG_0122.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqy76os-U2UxV61xDzmXuPa8vst5gdTsbG41H5y2QBCWsxdux-PO_Q-uEiRiqVKhgUtL-pRxuVgccKfpVzH3sdgJLf4W5QijJKe76Ru0V0rAXidgy02waJiL-jBAwTaaqwbQ6Mbvn9caXB/s320/IMG_0122.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Terrible Shot of a Little Owl on the 28th</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
Green Woodpecker:One record this month with a female bird flying through the village on the 5th<br />
<br />
Great-Spotted Woodpecker: 3 records this month, all 1 individuals with one male heard drumming on the 14th<br />
<br />
Kestrel: 2 records this month with a pair seen at their breeding site just outside the village on the 12th<br />
<br />
Magpie: A resident species on the patch with 3 records the highest count being 4 birds in the paddocks near the stud.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;"><b>Jay</b></span>: One bird was heard then seen fly through Saxelbye Hall on the 7th, this is one of a handful of records<br />
<br />
Jackdaw: A resident species on the patch, with the highest flock being 300+ with a bird with abnormal plumage seen on the 28th<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV6UpjXhP3gmiLft2tXxxy6aasonigFPhFmNAEZ7xbDRrfSaoBrNq6sfUt_rWwE4nml3pNJ_tL9xtZ4a-wsuLf4Qohv_wM2uBAjXBYq__FkpR-YD9voRsn8Id5L05VGZWH3YEvkpK3W94_/s1600/IMG_0018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV6UpjXhP3gmiLft2tXxxy6aasonigFPhFmNAEZ7xbDRrfSaoBrNq6sfUt_rWwE4nml3pNJ_tL9xtZ4a-wsuLf4Qohv_wM2uBAjXBYq__FkpR-YD9voRsn8Id5L05VGZWH3YEvkpK3W94_/s320/IMG_0018.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Abnormal Jackdaw Plumage on the 28th</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Rook: A resident species on the patch with the largest flock being 200+ birds on the 15th<br />
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Carrion Crow: A resident species with the highest flock being 20+ on the 15th<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwK0-9XhsR3j7zhwFIZWMcFhD0VE1aiZGu-ROfOXl9mOqned-24csu9iz2ka9ckpF5j42KA20-8IGQQJ1BiuWf5HIaGqyNVmdOiIMxtDzj_q4r7oGNSfa99sNQT838BsXlVX_Rc5eq_W_i/s1600/tw+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwK0-9XhsR3j7zhwFIZWMcFhD0VE1aiZGu-ROfOXl9mOqned-24csu9iz2ka9ckpF5j42KA20-8IGQQJ1BiuWf5HIaGqyNVmdOiIMxtDzj_q4r7oGNSfa99sNQT838BsXlVX_Rc5eq_W_i/s320/tw+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the Raven's from the 7th</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Raven: 2 records with 3 birds seen on the 7th, this is already the most records of Raven I've ever had on the patch<br />
<br />
<br />
Goldcrest: 2 records this month 7 birds were present in Old Dalby Wood during my monthly Woodland Survey on the 28th<br />
<br />
Blue Tit: A resident species on the patch, with 5 birds was the biggest flock counted, which was in my garden on the 27th<br />
<br />
Great Tit: A resident species on the patch, with the biggest flock being 7 birds moving through Shoby on the 7th<br />
<br />
Coal Tit: Only 2 records of this species, numbers have fallen as were arriving to spring, with 2 birds present in the garden on the 19th and 5 birds on the 28th during my Woodland Survey<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">Marsh Tit</span>: Less than 10 birds ever recorded on the patch, but they are becoming more frequent, one bird was heard then seen briefly on the 18th at Saxelbye Park with a tit flock also containing one of the only records of Treecreeper this month.<br />
<br />
Skylark: Up to 7 birds were seen on the 7th, with 3-4 birds heard singing regularly<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidunsAGmaY_JAZUM-vRGk8W83hAS6ZNwfB5pGNFq_fSjSdyYl_KPVhFklGTU4UxwddWRWraj62PpHqo0EhsqvIldzxWOrdZ060HMgWZjBJR_fBrwjQDI8X3kd15puMwsPjZfwPFrlRNE7o/s1600/IMG_0833.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidunsAGmaY_JAZUM-vRGk8W83hAS6ZNwfB5pGNFq_fSjSdyYl_KPVhFklGTU4UxwddWRWraj62PpHqo0EhsqvIldzxWOrdZ060HMgWZjBJR_fBrwjQDI8X3kd15puMwsPjZfwPFrlRNE7o/s320/IMG_0833.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Skylark from the 7th</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
Long-tailed Tit: One local flock containing 12 birds was seen on 3 separate occasions with the first record being on the 18th<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6;">Treecreeper</span>: With 2 records this month, the record being on the 18th at Saxelbye park in a Tit flock including the Marsh Tit, the other record being 2-3 birds present in Old Dalby Wood during my survey, this is the highest record of Treecreepers seen at once ever!<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhICM2Hpcj-FGgbJguebe3izL0umHyX4aQkUKPfh1gRBa6AO6xPYvtkG0jmm7OYJ6xoZZPbP-EypHQjygA138GcVLKI4o5-ZEPF3e4kDAOiaME73hi4r2z_zXslm8SqRQWuB5fNOoFtjl47/s1600/IMG_0096.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhICM2Hpcj-FGgbJguebe3izL0umHyX4aQkUKPfh1gRBa6AO6xPYvtkG0jmm7OYJ6xoZZPbP-EypHQjygA138GcVLKI4o5-ZEPF3e4kDAOiaME73hi4r2z_zXslm8SqRQWuB5fNOoFtjl47/s320/IMG_0096.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the Treecreeper's in Old Dalby Wood on the 28th<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Wren: A resident species but elusive on the patch, 3 birds was the highest count in Old Dalby Wood on the 28th<br />
<br />
Starling: A resident species on the patch, with the highest count being 400+ in the paddocks near the Stud<br />
<br />
Blackbird: A resident species on the patch, with 11 birds being the highest count near the grain dryer on the 7th<br />
<br />
Fieldfare: Only 4 records this month, with 200+ moving through on the 20th, but 1 bird is present throughout the month on the local orchard<br />
<br />
Redwing: Only 3 records this month with the highest count being 100+ on the 20th.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLHKRb9FFFHKCeoxYy-tmIdNUM2Oaj5BVto3UaeEmO6EAL7gHKCvf8HhjQ79c_Yf6AGVA2rvhaG9hdoaF3_eWpC7yg9rvmWLpNU9mybTqoil5tZmumq6IWAWGY1pgD_s5lwYMHf9e_UUVv/s1600/IMG_0861.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLHKRb9FFFHKCeoxYy-tmIdNUM2Oaj5BVto3UaeEmO6EAL7gHKCvf8HhjQ79c_Yf6AGVA2rvhaG9hdoaF3_eWpC7yg9rvmWLpNU9mybTqoil5tZmumq6IWAWGY1pgD_s5lwYMHf9e_UUVv/s320/IMG_0861.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A single bird seen at Shoby on the 27th</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
Mistle Thrush: 2 records this month, with 2 birds present around the village on the 20th then the 27th<br />
<br />
Song Thrush: 4 records this month, numbers do seem to have increased possibly due to Scandinavian birds moving through with 7 birds counted along the hedgerows on the way for the woodland survey on the 28th<br />
<br />
Robin: A resident species on the patch, with 5 birds present at Shoby being the highest count<br />
<br />
<u style="color: red; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Stonechat:</u> A female was present along the hedgerows near Saxelbye Park on the 20th, this is the first record EVER on the patch, and it was my youngest cousin (6 years old) who spotted it first, young birder in the making!!!!!!!!!<br />
<br />
Dunnock: A resident species on the patch, with 4 birds in my garden on the 15th being the highest count in one place.<br />
<br />
House Sparrow: A resident species on the patch, with 50+ always in the hedgerows near my house<br />
<br />
Tree Sparrow: A resident species on the patch, 1 pair was seen at their breeding location on the 18th<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil94Qu3bNShlMq2cyv05_swZ72Rk4mnbpZUNj2jEAU4xjt7PkMo8pR0OUJoG0qXD-61FnXOjT2mAgxVakjBAwymvLE2tzXgtgz8JWNEqCkGA9qGjWqFOzEsSafR8hsfr3m5zDG73pXj3nb/s1600/IMG_0896.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil94Qu3bNShlMq2cyv05_swZ72Rk4mnbpZUNj2jEAU4xjt7PkMo8pR0OUJoG0qXD-61FnXOjT2mAgxVakjBAwymvLE2tzXgtgz8JWNEqCkGA9qGjWqFOzEsSafR8hsfr3m5zDG73pXj3nb/s320/IMG_0896.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heavily cropped image of a Tree Sparrow on the 18th</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6;">Grey Wagtail</span>: One bird was heard flying over the village on the 20th<br />
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Pied Wagtail (yarrellii): 2 birds present throughout the month on the paddocks near the stud<br />
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Meadow Pipit: First record of the year with a single bird flying through (N) on the 18th<br />
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Brambling: The record was broken once again with 42 birds present on the 21st, the numbers suddenly dropped with only a few birds back at the grain dryer<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCH2RXvHPZQYPIKptE5BMmNvqPMJCsFdKiaxkt1ZYlKO9zSIguLA8T8sSwb7hyphenhyphen025KhYrRjw7qUvB3hoYJxk4NxkyCerptn9GW8UEr606iLc9IHjAYabEvHmJwS6eC45Uc-l4Gcr3DYacK/s1600/twitter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCH2RXvHPZQYPIKptE5BMmNvqPMJCsFdKiaxkt1ZYlKO9zSIguLA8T8sSwb7hyphenhyphen025KhYrRjw7qUvB3hoYJxk4NxkyCerptn9GW8UEr606iLc9IHjAYabEvHmJwS6eC45Uc-l4Gcr3DYacK/s320/twitter.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Part of the Brambling flock from the 17th</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
Chaffinch: A resident species on the patch with 50+ seen on the 28th near where the Lapwings were<br />
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Bullfinch: A resident species, 5 birds was the highest count on the 17th at Shoby<br />
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Greenfinch: A resident species on the patch, with 5 birds present around the village with 3 of them being singing and displaying males<br />
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Linnet:A resident species on the patch, only 1 record this month of a single bird flying through on the 7th, there numbers have been down this year compared to other years, maybe due to a mild winter<br />
<br />
Lesser Redpoll: 2 records both at the start of the month, with 2 birds at Shoby on the 7th being the highest total.<br />
<br />
Goldfinch: A resident species on the patch, with 20+ being the highest count on the 20th<br />
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Siskin: 2 records this month, 2 birds present on the 7th, then 10+ present again in Old Dalby Wood on the 28th<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikoUljeSbNz1faONWlwmKBmpkFVI32gcoHNyedTVcZle2xMPTUzqbdaNSkWQ_PJuE_7MbxlGPFmCHWaVx9fhVvgHakP1mJohi_tlEijZkJOI98sXu3Asf86HH2DjgOO6YQswA_TfzLoDha/s1600/tw.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikoUljeSbNz1faONWlwmKBmpkFVI32gcoHNyedTVcZle2xMPTUzqbdaNSkWQ_PJuE_7MbxlGPFmCHWaVx9fhVvgHakP1mJohi_tlEijZkJOI98sXu3Asf86HH2DjgOO6YQswA_TfzLoDha/s320/tw.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Siskin at Shoby from the 7th</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Yellowhammer: A resident species on the patch, with 5 records of this species, with 21 being the highest count in the paddocks near the stud<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvS8OztRukdE5z1jMaYATleSHOnW8irySNBGq2hbRZAqf6BwzpOtuZ2LAUOMVgqgtUQnxG8WAld2YsQ23T1r3P_RkesiixiTHVVXxpdQ1_n0F-5Jxk9Rz7AhjfS_zxQhuUYpDCDhMB23RP/s1600/IMG_0085.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvS8OztRukdE5z1jMaYATleSHOnW8irySNBGq2hbRZAqf6BwzpOtuZ2LAUOMVgqgtUQnxG8WAld2YsQ23T1r3P_RkesiixiTHVVXxpdQ1_n0F-5Jxk9Rz7AhjfS_zxQhuUYpDCDhMB23RP/s320/IMG_0085.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yellowhammer from the 28th</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
Reed Bunting: One record this month of an individual seen at Shoby on the 18th<br />
<br />
<br />
Here are my records of all the species for the month<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTFE3Zx3gW9zUCB1Lh_P5aTFSm73VqxYdi7jnrSarsFSjoOXQKGcEt4q86dS0eF72yEc2j1VZlmI_qoCrpD3ryNzGNC32Ue0PohyphenhyphenPxa0aprm8NfTAh-ukOJ5xVd-EOQgaAhxxloXqLvmNB/s1600/PWC+soresheet.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTFE3Zx3gW9zUCB1Lh_P5aTFSm73VqxYdi7jnrSarsFSjoOXQKGcEt4q86dS0eF72yEc2j1VZlmI_qoCrpD3ryNzGNC32Ue0PohyphenhyphenPxa0aprm8NfTAh-ukOJ5xVd-EOQgaAhxxloXqLvmNB/s320/PWC+soresheet.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIaxY0EHmPcigDwN07YlFWt1M_a3Qpem8TxpbrnkegFCarimiQdO0n7NAZtKhP05wF6LjY8-XkZE5vLAAmuvIln92GS-H5uMjN5PeC6f6ddYUMAbQi95j82Oie_7UnNhpMGw4hPD-4Tggb/s1600/PWC+soresheet+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIaxY0EHmPcigDwN07YlFWt1M_a3Qpem8TxpbrnkegFCarimiQdO0n7NAZtKhP05wF6LjY8-XkZE5vLAAmuvIln92GS-H5uMjN5PeC6f6ddYUMAbQi95j82Oie_7UnNhpMGw4hPD-4Tggb/s320/PWC+soresheet+2.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
And here are the new species for the year:<br />
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<br />Toby Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10460894272214119675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6708943715748155563.post-4564218851403820042016-02-28T20:57:00.002+00:002016-02-28T20:57:54.201+00:00The Long-Billed Dowitcher at Rutland WaterFor the last 23 days a Long-Billed Dowitcher has taken up residency in and around Leicestershire and Rutland, after first being reported at Wanlip Meadows, this bird has also been seen at Wanlip North Lakes, then on the 23rd 'a' Long-billed Dowitcher had been reported at Rutland Water on Lagoon 3 and showing well.<br />
<br />
Back in the February Half-term I took my 2 younger cousins (6&10) to Wanlip North Lakes to hopefully see the Long-billed Dowitcher, after 3/4 hour we had no look, but my cousins did get their first Green Sandpipers, Goosander, White-front and Pink-footed Geese. <br />
<br />
On the 27th my dad and I tried again for this bird at Rutland Water where it had been seen to be showing well, when we both arrived we had ticked off 100+ Lapwing, Tufted Duck and Golden Plover, on the way towards Lagoon 3, we got close views of Bullfinch, Redwing and Song Thrush. We arrived at Shoveler hide (my favourite hide, click on this link to see why: <a href="http://grimstonwarbler.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/i-went-with-friend-to-rutland-water-in.html">Black Stork</a>!), the hide wasn't to busy and within seconds of setting up the telescope myself and my dad were watching this Long-Billed Dowitcher, this was my 281st species seen in the UK!!!!!! After watching this bird for a good 30mins, it flew off with all of the Lapwing, then after a few minutes of tracking it in the sky it came and landed even closer, and getting some awesome pics of this bird:<br />
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Here is a terrible flight shot of the bird<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAo0bCfulUFbe4jn6VyLwd7_rwfbrF87HXB_oSX7rh86aGIvzjc-pJyMqcEprPswwoMByNeBzM8ThYzdxO7K3vliuW6J0OneuPDHdYFrZ1-ezssPTNG8vy2bxYCizaKvDFnAq38LjMOysC/s1600/IMG_0038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAo0bCfulUFbe4jn6VyLwd7_rwfbrF87HXB_oSX7rh86aGIvzjc-pJyMqcEprPswwoMByNeBzM8ThYzdxO7K3vliuW6J0OneuPDHdYFrZ1-ezssPTNG8vy2bxYCizaKvDFnAq38LjMOysC/s320/IMG_0038.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Terrible Flight Shot</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Here are some Camera photos after the bird landed<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVRpobyONdBYdFiLhsYHsE8KEy6q-HZW9I7-rZcv7WGCVFJ4xb-j3Zk7Fw2kOnIxJo_SuF9-oS28cani4johySE_GEG96btI-zcB4V4fmPehY_ZUIluBwfkjalk8ji6QMGcZpSkfZRj2Qd/s1600/twiitter+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVRpobyONdBYdFiLhsYHsE8KEy6q-HZW9I7-rZcv7WGCVFJ4xb-j3Zk7Fw2kOnIxJo_SuF9-oS28cani4johySE_GEG96btI-zcB4V4fmPehY_ZUIluBwfkjalk8ji6QMGcZpSkfZRj2Qd/s320/twiitter+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Long-Billed Dowitcher</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRXlLn61HT-Mynikow90mj2sfyv946IysqNYdLc6SBzfxfy3pKtSRJDqiUME9kVNvdOFH3V5GGLtV1ZYizPdd7NXAAyEz-DHSksqgj84NNnw780ToRxapBUun3AXLT96tLTO-3A3lmdQ0W/s1600/twitter+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRXlLn61HT-Mynikow90mj2sfyv946IysqNYdLc6SBzfxfy3pKtSRJDqiUME9kVNvdOFH3V5GGLtV1ZYizPdd7NXAAyEz-DHSksqgj84NNnw780ToRxapBUun3AXLT96tLTO-3A3lmdQ0W/s320/twitter+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Long-Billed Dowitcher</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtsgVH93peR8kU4eHEiggEescJpT99tYrh5DqJdSMnRYFJhJNLvU4M3bEYXFsZTDi3Yptni0ae5V_tqoBZBAS34koHluRdp9qUwFxtt7Rm9NqI8m4ztJAoWRGcIZhG1RY599PTOAS8cO9o/s1600/Twitter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtsgVH93peR8kU4eHEiggEescJpT99tYrh5DqJdSMnRYFJhJNLvU4M3bEYXFsZTDi3Yptni0ae5V_tqoBZBAS34koHluRdp9qUwFxtt7Rm9NqI8m4ztJAoWRGcIZhG1RY599PTOAS8cO9o/s320/Twitter.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Long-Billed Dowitcher</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />Toby Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10460894272214119675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6708943715748155563.post-59162718625406409022016-01-31T18:35:00.000+00:002016-01-31T18:35:27.941+00:00PWC 2016 January Totals<h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Well it's been an amazing month to kick this challenge off with, had some awesome birds including; Raven, Bullfinch, Brambling, Yellowhammer, Lapwing and Gadwall. </span></h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
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<h4>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Here is a roundup of this month's sighting: </span></h4>
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Greylag Geese: A resident species around the patch, 2 birds flew round the village, then relocated at the 'pond' in the afternoon on the 23<sup>rd<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></sup><br />
<sup><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></sup>
<sup><span style="font-size: small;">Mallard: A resident species on the patch, around 30 birds present on the 'pond' with 3 domestic ducks</span></sup><br />
<sup><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></sup>
<sup><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></sup>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgioMccNMhA6L8aD9HJxMpPnnvVeEGl-Rb7jf_EnPO-g-nDlO9VN-wlZXLnmwZvgPzSgXUQ8xB3s3mvxWUxwTZvM8Hx4Yo-CcDwAFqBe_WbEki3Y39tYyUWJX-E4jgDey9d7TRTUbs9E8TA/s1600/IMG_1056.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgioMccNMhA6L8aD9HJxMpPnnvVeEGl-Rb7jf_EnPO-g-nDlO9VN-wlZXLnmwZvgPzSgXUQ8xB3s3mvxWUxwTZvM8Hx4Yo-CcDwAFqBe_WbEki3Y39tYyUWJX-E4jgDey9d7TRTUbs9E8TA/s320/IMG_1056.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mallard and Moorhen from the 23rd</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<sup><br /></sup>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: red;">Gadwall</span></b>: 1
bird flew south outside the village on the 23<sup>rd</sup> probably came off the 'pond' , this is the first
ever record on the patch, a species that I didn't think I'd ever get</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Red-legged Partridge: Rare but resident species, 7 birds were seen feeding in a fallowed field near Old Dalby Wood on the 31st</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>Grey Partridge</b></span>: Very rare but resident species, 2 birds were sen feeding with the 'Red-legs' on the 31st, this is the first sighting in 3 years!!!!<br /><o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Pheasant: A resident species around the patch , 7 was the
highest count on the 16<sup>th</sup></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Sparrowhawk: A resident species around the patch, but can be
elusive, seen on the 2<sup>nd</sup>, 6<sup>th</sup>, 10<sup>th</sup> of this
month</span><br />
<br />
Grey Heron: A vagrant species, one was feeding at the 'pond' on the 31<span style="font-size: 13.3333px;">st</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13.3333px;"><br /></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPOfx8Gf4IoyCzeMWUoK65UyJcJsvfa2BLhwr4ciRjD_3a-7QDAUR2W9f_wn3QaIGKuaCUGUDBpxVbxTAir8vBNdut5pL0NmFHc6Td07Ca2fARgjinc6hyphenhyphen4RdsS0Qt5cmwYIzPt1s3gzOb/s1600/IMG_0255.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPOfx8Gf4IoyCzeMWUoK65UyJcJsvfa2BLhwr4ciRjD_3a-7QDAUR2W9f_wn3QaIGKuaCUGUDBpxVbxTAir8vBNdut5pL0NmFHc6Td07Ca2fARgjinc6hyphenhyphen4RdsS0Qt5cmwYIzPt1s3gzOb/s320/IMG_0255.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grey Heron flying away at the 'pond' on the 31st</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: 13.3333px;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Buzzard: A resident species around the patch, seen every time I've
gone out birding, highest being 2 birds on the 23<sup>rd</sup></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij2vVBzfaDOMD4Cy_R9S5eQ2p77pjdnx7iJVYD4HLnca-hrLhkH-_uwBVhknXp-L-WH87NiERVgQOvueNJ2r7V9lKhwI-5l7RR9PF_Y2oIVwH23GwXuwR_c9HVpRxBBRP5YN6FLkk00rwb/s1600/IMG_1050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij2vVBzfaDOMD4Cy_R9S5eQ2p77pjdnx7iJVYD4HLnca-hrLhkH-_uwBVhknXp-L-WH87NiERVgQOvueNJ2r7V9lKhwI-5l7RR9PF_Y2oIVwH23GwXuwR_c9HVpRxBBRP5YN6FLkk00rwb/s320/IMG_1050.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Buzzard from the 23<span style="font-size: 13.3333px; text-align: start;">rd</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sparrowhawk:</span>A resident species around the patch, only one female was seen flying through the village on the 16th<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Moorhen: A resident species around the patch, seen regularly on
the 'pond' highest count being 3 on the 24<sup>th</sup></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: red;">Golden Plover</span></b>: A rare vagrant on my patch, this species
I've only had one other sighting, one bird was heard on the 6<sup>th</sup>
flying over in the night<br /><o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: red;">Lapwing</span></b>: A rare vagrant on my patch,
with only a handful of records on the patch, 5 birds circled round just south
of the village on the 23<sup>rd</sup> <o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIqJXW_HKcoBufO1XLtYBRoTpTFh8vtr4M0r6nNYyblA-5fwrMMOdJPped4kOpgCVYBCp7SMoXyvVTZJe19IqiVoIYr0gmBnpmuvV2VYf6WLNZc_xcVFMkCf_yARr-XsUK54dC9lGbrQ_1/s1600/IMG_1028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIqJXW_HKcoBufO1XLtYBRoTpTFh8vtr4M0r6nNYyblA-5fwrMMOdJPped4kOpgCVYBCp7SMoXyvVTZJe19IqiVoIYr0gmBnpmuvV2VYf6WLNZc_xcVFMkCf_yARr-XsUK54dC9lGbrQ_1/s320/IMG_1028.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lapwing from the 23rd</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Woodcock: Uncommon Winter visitor, one bird was flushed in Old dalby Wood on the 31st</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Common Gull: A vagrant on my patch, only 1 record was recorded
this month being 6 birds flying SE on the 24<sup>th</sup></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup> </sup></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Herring Gull: : A vagrant on my patch, only 1 record was recorded
this month being 17 birds flying SE on the 16<sup>th<br /> <o:p></o:p></sup></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><o:p> </o:p></sup></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Stock Dove: A resident species around the patch, only a handful of
records this month, the highest being a flock of 12 feeding with a flock of c30 Woodpigeon on the 31<span style="font-size: 13.3333px;">st </span>at the 'pond'</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Woodpigeon: A resident species around the patch, highest number
was c200 feeding in a winter wheat field on the 17<sup>th</sup></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Collared Dove: A resident species around the patch, seen most days
hanging around the village, the highest number being 5 birds in Grimston
Churchyard on the 24<sup>th</sup></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: red;"> </span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></b></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: red;">Barn Owl</span></b>: A rare vagrant on my patch,
with one bird flying down a private lane on the 8<sup>th</sup><o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Little Owl: A resident species around the patch, heard most nights
around the village, one bird was sighted sitting outside a Barn Owl box at the
'pond' on the 24<sup>th</sup></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Tawny Owl: A resident species around the patch, heard most nights
around the village, 3 birds were heard on the 13<sup>th</sup></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Green Woodpecker: A vagrant on my patch, one record this month,
being a male feeding in a paddock on the 24<sup>th<br /> </sup></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Great-Spotted Woodpecker: A resident species around the patch, a few birds hang around different areas of the
patch, the highest count at one time was 2 birds on the 24<sup>th</sup></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Kestrel: A resident species around the patch, one sighting was of
a female hunting near the grain dryer on the 4<sup>th</sup></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: red;">Peregrine</span></b>: A rare vagrant on my patch, with 2
previous records on the patch, a huge adult female raced through village
chasing a Woodpigeon on the 24<sup>th<br /><o:p></o:p></sup></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><o:p> </o:p></sup></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Magpie: A resident species around the patch, only 1 record this
month off 3 birds on the 9<sup>th</sup></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Jackdaw: A resident species around the patch, always around the
village, and the nearby paddocks, the highest count being around 300+ on the 23<sup>rd</sup>
going to roost</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Rook: A resident species around the patch, always in the nearby
paddocks, highest count being 200+ birds during roost on the 23<sup>rd</sup></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Carrion Crow: A resident species around the patch, always hanging
around the patch in small number, the highest count being 36 in the paddocks on
the 23<sup>rd<br /><o:p></o:p></sup></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><o:p> </o:p></sup></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: red;">Raven</span></b>:A single bird spent the morning around
the village on the 9<sup>th</sup>, it's more than likely it's still around with
Corvids in the paddocks, then seen on the 31st when showing my Grandad the Bramblings on the 31st<br /><o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Goldcrest: A resident species around the patch, resident in Old
Dalby Wood, but a vagrant everywhere else, 1 bird was seen near the Grain Dryer
on the 24<sup>th<br /><o:p></o:p></sup></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><o:p> </o:p></sup></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Blue Tit: A resident species around the patch, seen regularly on
the patch, 13 birds on the 17<sup>th </sup>was the highest count</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Great Tit: A resident species around the patch, seen regularly on
the patch, 7 birds on the 17<sup>th </sup>was the highest count</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Coal Tit: A resident species around the patch, seen regularly on
the patch, 3 birds on the 24<sup>th </sup>was the highest count</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Skylark: A resident species around the patch, this time of year they
hard to pin down, found 3 birds feeding in the fields outside the Grain Dryer</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Long-tailed Tit: A resident species around the patch, regular
flocks around the patch, a flock of 16 was the highest count recorded</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #0070c0;">Treecreeper</span></b>: A vagrant species to the patch, one bird
was recorded with a flock of Tits (Great, Blue and Long-tailed) on the 9<sup>th</sup><o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Wren: A resident species around the patch, highest count being 2
birds in my garden on the 3<sup>rd<br /><o:p></o:p></sup></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><o:p> </o:p></sup></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Starling: A resident species around the patch, biggest flock count
being 200+ flying round at roost time on the 24<sup>th</sup></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Blackbird: A resident species around the patch, the highest count
being 11 birds between the Orchard and
Grain Dryer on the 22<sup>nd</sup></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Fieldfare: A winter visitor to the patch, the highest flock count
was 600+ birds flying through on the 23<sup>rd</sup> and 31 birds were recorded
feeding in the Orchard 14<sup>th</sup></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Song Thrush: A resident species around the patch, sadly declining
species, one bird was seen at the 'pond' on the 31st and two birds were in the Orchard on the 14<sup>th </sup></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8YB2_Zu1-rgSZgkzxUPJpdC1rtUxz4Ud_71HHjOi1i64M3ftfkiaiOiVuqEfrraViFqxYRguIDXDAziIamaE4-Ljf-1bDHzju87MyyEb0N3M8i0La4aPf3bT8J1-Y2XPRkvnyWMjLaP9T/s1600/IMG_0253.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8YB2_Zu1-rgSZgkzxUPJpdC1rtUxz4Ud_71HHjOi1i64M3ftfkiaiOiVuqEfrraViFqxYRguIDXDAziIamaE4-Ljf-1bDHzju87MyyEb0N3M8i0La4aPf3bT8J1-Y2XPRkvnyWMjLaP9T/s320/IMG_0253.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hazy shot of the Song Thrush at the 'pond' on the 31st</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Redwing: A winter visitor to the patch, highest flock count was
300+ birds flying through on the 23<sup>rd</sup></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Mistle Thrush: A vagrant species, one bird was within the flock of
thrushes on the 14<sup>th</sup> in the Orchard</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Robin: A resident species around the patch, highest number was 8
birds around the patch on the 24<sup>th</sup>, but there are probably more
birds around</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Dunnock: A resident species around the patch, 4 birds together was
the highest count on the 16<sup>th</sup></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">House Sparrow: A resident species around the patch, with around
60+ birds in Grimston, including a female with 2 white primaries on each wing,
she was seen on many occasions</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Tree Sparrow: A resident species around the patch, but sadly
declining species, with a handful of birds around, with 3 birds in a flock of
c30 House Sparrows in a Shoby feeding station on the 2<sup>nd</sup></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #0070c0;">Grey Wagtail</span></b><b>: </b>A vagrant species on the patch, there were 2 records
this month, 1 bird on the 1<sup>st</sup> and another heard flying over on the
24<sup>th</sup>, could well be the same bird<br /><o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Pied
Wagtail (<span style="background: white;">yarrellii</span>): A resident species
on the patch, 5 birds were seen around the paddocks on the 24<sup>th</sup></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white;">Brambling: A winter visitor, a record number were recorded at
the Grain Dryer on the 30<sup>th</sup> 22 birds were seen, these birds have
increased in numbers over the last few years</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdFLbtnh677esCS4b1tR1wjULIhDz4rbnyDhHZXxskZfWivOc308phre5AkK6Vv_1NZ_mAZpMXH95gXB7FajUPzxZxGY99ByCgVrMPZ5T3X7NknxPiGhInVfLsbX-FPueSgTmjNpwQQxOA/s1600/IMG_0026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdFLbtnh677esCS4b1tR1wjULIhDz4rbnyDhHZXxskZfWivOc308phre5AkK6Vv_1NZ_mAZpMXH95gXB7FajUPzxZxGY99ByCgVrMPZ5T3X7NknxPiGhInVfLsbX-FPueSgTmjNpwQQxOA/s320/IMG_0026.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">7 of the 22 birds seen on the <span style="background-color: white; font-size: small;">30</span><sup style="text-align: start;">th</sup></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihdrSZVTEMb2FzTvKY4p2qzXa0jGLc1mOCrhT_g-C-Xp7GZCasioO2IKKbSQ1jPnjk4bdVMPcJG2AYPWiyfd_087lQRA9gMhjBw7pstKA7IPbfZ3U03j0h0CSqT29EpsJL4vsEEk6ar83I/s1600/IMG_0134+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihdrSZVTEMb2FzTvKY4p2qzXa0jGLc1mOCrhT_g-C-Xp7GZCasioO2IKKbSQ1jPnjk4bdVMPcJG2AYPWiyfd_087lQRA9gMhjBw7pstKA7IPbfZ3U03j0h0CSqT29EpsJL4vsEEk6ar83I/s320/IMG_0134+-+Copy.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lovely Male Brambling from the <span style="background-color: white; font-size: small;">30</span><sup style="text-align: start;">th</sup></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white;">Chaffinch: A resident species on the patch, regular flock of
30-40 birds are at the Grain Dyer with the Brambling ,and a flock of 15-20
birds on the paddock hedgerows</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white;">Bullfinch: A resident species on the patch, 8 birds was the
highest recorded, with 3 birds (2 Male and 1 Female) at a cover crop field, and
7 birds (4 male and 3 Female) at Saxelbye Hall on the 24<sup>th</sup></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0jKp6v6HPjORYJgAwCDMMMUjYakSt3SwA6YA8I35-1ET35TqFYF98VbA0a-M3bsjSR7AbPLVRj6RllKKtSD6WlyrrHkGp_toGDh1RIP5YgddzHqDjXuPqef3-bJwPBZmlEKok_O2KOI6g/s1600/IMG_1013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0jKp6v6HPjORYJgAwCDMMMUjYakSt3SwA6YA8I35-1ET35TqFYF98VbA0a-M3bsjSR7AbPLVRj6RllKKtSD6WlyrrHkGp_toGDh1RIP5YgddzHqDjXuPqef3-bJwPBZmlEKok_O2KOI6g/s320/IMG_1013.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Male Bullfinch from the 23rd</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white;">Greenfinch: A resident species on the patch, sadly another
declining species, with only 1 record, of a bird flying S on the 23<sup>rd</sup></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white;">Linnet: A resident species on the patch, numbers at the
moment are down, with 2 records of a flock of 10 birds in the fields around the
Grain Dryer regularly</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="background: white; color: #0070c0;">Lesser
Redpoll</span></b><span style="background: white;">: A vagrant
species on the patch, a flock of 3 birds at a cover crop field on the 16<sup>th</sup>
and a single bird flew N on the 24<sup>th<br /><o:p></o:p></sup></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><span style="background: white;"><o:p> </o:p></span></sup></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white;">Goldfinch: A resident species on the patch, with regular
'charm' flocks, the highest being 27 in a cover crop field on the 16<sup>th<br /><o:p></o:p></sup></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><span style="background: white;"><o:p> </o:p></span></sup></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="background: white; color: #0070c0;">Siskin</span></b><b><span style="background: white;">: </span></b><span style="background: white;">A winter
visitor, a record flock was recorded of 7 individuals in the Goldfinch flock on
the 16<sup>th</sup><o:p></o:p></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white;"><o:p> and c10 flock was seen in Old Dalby Wood</o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white;">Yellowhammer: A resident species on the patch, with 7 birds
present in the hedgerows near the paddocks on the 24<sup>th</sup></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3vtIW4NNeqzCj7DH2YeOvzC1Kx8vjZCjs-NWgrJYPQ4YE-vFTgk9aCToPYkd4fyIlSvvrCQsH_M7Q2V22X2NJWfeuJD37ziEALpFyfDkdHpNa9TnYN-j7M1sOFgkwGja_PDAfXfsUgWDW/s1600/IMG_0606.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3vtIW4NNeqzCj7DH2YeOvzC1Kx8vjZCjs-NWgrJYPQ4YE-vFTgk9aCToPYkd4fyIlSvvrCQsH_M7Q2V22X2NJWfeuJD37ziEALpFyfDkdHpNa9TnYN-j7M1sOFgkwGja_PDAfXfsUgWDW/s320/IMG_0606.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Male Yellowhammer from the 24th</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white;">Reed Bunting: A resident species on the patch, with 7 birds
with the Yellowhammer on the 24<sup>th</sup></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<b style="color: red;">Red</b> = Less than 10 records on the patch<br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><b style="color: #0070c0;">Blue </b>= Between 10 - 50 records on the patch</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEionBKDxI_DEn0PZ4UdMU7c1d9H71kWCPOY2Acgh5TNLYJhxScNPTxszNPCAAYd8Lai9XrCn_IDASquFHOLbrKmedg35_X7OekcT9YIHEkMe0f5o8-bqsmpL3Gif867Ym2sClAHVieLQ2PM/s1600/Untitled+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEionBKDxI_DEn0PZ4UdMU7c1d9H71kWCPOY2Acgh5TNLYJhxScNPTxszNPCAAYd8Lai9XrCn_IDASquFHOLbrKmedg35_X7OekcT9YIHEkMe0f5o8-bqsmpL3Gif867Ym2sClAHVieLQ2PM/s400/Untitled+1.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Spreadsheet showing all the species</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijDbcP13YD1qZe27N5G6o98Rd9nOYJIDAvE2MWS3szbhPuhdtJqbCiULes2gUrXSLKQzU0WdI9-CkiQGsgsazSQALkKKPTnvNCrV1faZxGeUV2bkFzM-noM9uy7Eoc6eQjNrcDOYQ1KJXk/s1600/Untitled2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijDbcP13YD1qZe27N5G6o98Rd9nOYJIDAvE2MWS3szbhPuhdtJqbCiULes2gUrXSLKQzU0WdI9-CkiQGsgsazSQALkKKPTnvNCrV1faZxGeUV2bkFzM-noM9uy7Eoc6eQjNrcDOYQ1KJXk/s400/Untitled2.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">My Spreadsheet showing all the species</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCXW_a1j4Woks0iFQsuTkVQAt96wqb2bSt93-wi3vRx7dSPxUu5J1JYm6V9VtKl2TouOwP_o_lVy965G7_GVvgKDx3ikuf5WT6Vosl_mtHeiQUYxUV5vsWoW7fC-T0HB0gdYDElMq2fVZv/s1600/Untitled+3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="51" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCXW_a1j4Woks0iFQsuTkVQAt96wqb2bSt93-wi3vRx7dSPxUu5J1JYm6V9VtKl2TouOwP_o_lVy965G7_GVvgKDx3ikuf5WT6Vosl_mtHeiQUYxUV5vsWoW7fC-T0HB0gdYDElMq2fVZv/s400/Untitled+3.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">My Spreadsheet showing all the species</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
So the first month proved very well with 59 species with 60 points, with the female Peregrine being the only 2 pointer.<br />
<br /></div>
Toby Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10460894272214119675noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6708943715748155563.post-90409950440590863222016-01-30T16:28:00.001+00:002016-01-30T16:28:10.710+00:00The BramblingsFor the last few years, in the winter months small flocks of Brambling have been congregating, feeding and roosting with our resident Chaffinches at the Grain Dryer. There are usually around 4/5 birds with c30 Chaffinch, but this year despite the extremely mild climate we have had record numbers of these birds, 22 birds were recorded on the 30th. This is the biggest flock of Brambling recorded in Leicestershire and Rutland in the Winter period of 2015-16. <br />
<br />
So here some absolutely stunning photos that I've managed to take of these birds.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihdrSZVTEMb2FzTvKY4p2qzXa0jGLc1mOCrhT_g-C-Xp7GZCasioO2IKKbSQ1jPnjk4bdVMPcJG2AYPWiyfd_087lQRA9gMhjBw7pstKA7IPbfZ3U03j0h0CSqT29EpsJL4vsEEk6ar83I/s1600/IMG_0134+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihdrSZVTEMb2FzTvKY4p2qzXa0jGLc1mOCrhT_g-C-Xp7GZCasioO2IKKbSQ1jPnjk4bdVMPcJG2AYPWiyfd_087lQRA9gMhjBw7pstKA7IPbfZ3U03j0h0CSqT29EpsJL4vsEEk6ar83I/s320/IMG_0134+-+Copy.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6HpqYTLvldXFe_upBf8mUpY9NMioqTgnF1L4SUrovIp9qN-P0xACdobBcSjULGH0FXlg4Z4dLBsDLahlQt2CY5TvSgKkAJVNR2WVJdF0I9TrH-kasKWOUw_yK4TnLGJSC8_vD0rfEI4hd/s1600/IMG_0064+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6HpqYTLvldXFe_upBf8mUpY9NMioqTgnF1L4SUrovIp9qN-P0xACdobBcSjULGH0FXlg4Z4dLBsDLahlQt2CY5TvSgKkAJVNR2WVJdF0I9TrH-kasKWOUw_yK4TnLGJSC8_vD0rfEI4hd/s320/IMG_0064+-+Copy.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUTOowJcPfAxulg_MDI994X9blQT2OTIOYGoG8_uFTu6Xpn8LIxCXwfAsUZhgU97F5gkudLutIBDZYSiSfSSS7FuItmhLkMhRus3Ndtfh1AkKcSzVdXgBmdTo6VDG3fs6oBwO2TgjKLEJX/s1600/IMG_0072+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUTOowJcPfAxulg_MDI994X9blQT2OTIOYGoG8_uFTu6Xpn8LIxCXwfAsUZhgU97F5gkudLutIBDZYSiSfSSS7FuItmhLkMhRus3Ndtfh1AkKcSzVdXgBmdTo6VDG3fs6oBwO2TgjKLEJX/s320/IMG_0072+-+Copy.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Many of you have seen these images on Twitter, thank you for the support and on Monday I'll be posting my Patchwork Challenge round up of the month.Toby Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10460894272214119675noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6708943715748155563.post-19003830989784010922016-01-18T17:41:00.006+00:002016-01-18T17:41:57.379+00:00Nasal Saddled Tufted Duck<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">J</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">ust before Christmas I went out with my friend Sam (</span><a href="https://twitter.com/sampittmiller" style="background-color: white; color: #771100; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px; text-decoration: none;">@sampittmiller</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">) to his local patch Priory Water, a medium sized Gravel Pit in the Wreake valley in Leicestershire. In the winter, this area attracts a lot of different duck species, and, a few days earlier, Sam found a 1st Winter male Scaup which is very uncommon so far inland.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">So we went in search of this bird, checking through all the Tufted Duck flocks floating on the choppy water, when I noticed something very unusual on one of the Tufted Duck's beaks. After having a closer look, we were able to make out that it was a ‘nasal saddle’, which is a type of colour mark in which the 'ring' is strapped on the upper mandible. This was very exciting because one of the last times I visited Priory Water with Sam, I found a colour-ringed Cormorant with the initials 'CTH' which had been ringed the year before at Attenborough Nature Reserve.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;" /></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP1rwiezuBQsolaVq3qnGYfNyk_9aH1v8ieR5fTcqSaaDarqNl5N2WzwYdhgj75LEjrtgLFkCQItJexurQ04faLVuvBGIub53vbI5NKm-ns0vqz8nIza3ViLcDLqIXzcIfabn3XDmOOlA/s1600/Nasal+Saddled+Tuftie+2+by+Toby+Warbler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; color: #771100; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Nasal saddled Tufted Duck 'A43' Photo by Toby Carter" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP1rwiezuBQsolaVq3qnGYfNyk_9aH1v8ieR5fTcqSaaDarqNl5N2WzwYdhgj75LEjrtgLFkCQItJexurQ04faLVuvBGIub53vbI5NKm-ns0vqz8nIza3ViLcDLqIXzcIfabn3XDmOOlA/s200/Nasal+Saddled+Tuftie+2+by+Toby+Warbler.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" title="Nasal saddled Tufted Duck 'A43' Photo by Toby Carter" width="149" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 11.88px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Nasal saddled Tufted Duck </span><br /><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">'A43' </span><span style="font-size: 12.8px;"> Photo by Toby Carter</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">So getting back on topic, after trying to get some half decent photos of this bird through my telescope (Digiscoping), we managed to work out that the nasal saddle was marked with the combination 'A43'. I reported this and after a few anxious weeks, I got the results which were very interesting.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">It turns out that the bird was originally ringed in Saint-Philbert-De-Grand-Lieu, France in December 2009. It was spotted a year and 9 months later at Matignicourt-Goncourt (again in France) 312 miles away (as the 'Duck' flies). We spotted this bird at Priory Water 4 years and 3 months since it had last been reported, and it had traveled 373 miles (again as the 'Duck' flies) from its previous known location.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjme9HhgEhtqok8-czXMdHqb7ajlQ0mAujqPGgZWwC1IrnrqzupHxFVmRM-MEhoLNIsz99D8S9ATEvyA7H29q9gSKqbUDyfQQuZpRPNo4DcOsJKwCNzaLugwhYhQncbjXeSHVpRKxwhbJ8/s1600/Nasal+saddled+tuftie+map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; color: #771100; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjme9HhgEhtqok8-czXMdHqb7ajlQ0mAujqPGgZWwC1IrnrqzupHxFVmRM-MEhoLNIsz99D8S9ATEvyA7H29q9gSKqbUDyfQQuZpRPNo4DcOsJKwCNzaLugwhYhQncbjXeSHVpRKxwhbJ8/s400/Nasal+saddled+tuftie+map.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">This is one of the reasons I love ringing and birding, as out in the field you can spot colour-ringed birds of all sorts, like Reed Warbler, Coot, Cormorant, Black-tailed Godwit, Redshank, Common Gull and Black-headed Gull, and that is just to name a few! Behind each ring is so much information that helps people like the BTO understand more about where these birds are feeding, migratory patterns, and much, much more. Reporting ringed and colour-marked birds is a really valuable thing to do and if you ever do spot a colour-marked bird you can<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://cr-birding.org/" style="color: #771100; text-decoration: none;">report it using this website.</a> </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">I'd like to say a big thanks to Sam of course but also to BTO, Kane Brides, David Rodrigues and Alain Caizergues for digging up the old records of this bird.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjThPZ_2LIsIM_65y32zXqhQzbBEEfOlWYPYYld72JB9Fbfkk9pVsFkP50sOdZV92cJ-C3zCNsegeFraYvpd1NS_qAnfNly9rDjYrqKAHeLvu4yhIIwtYdImfK6yg5LtXkValFix_1-uJ4P/s1600/B0ZYA2bIgAEhFGh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjThPZ_2LIsIM_65y32zXqhQzbBEEfOlWYPYYld72JB9Fbfkk9pVsFkP50sOdZV92cJ-C3zCNsegeFraYvpd1NS_qAnfNly9rDjYrqKAHeLvu4yhIIwtYdImfK6yg5LtXkValFix_1-uJ4P/s320/B0ZYA2bIgAEhFGh.jpg" width="253" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CTH (Sam)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;" /><a href="http://www.rspb.org.uk/community/placestovisit/framptonmarsh/b/framptonmarsh-blog/archive/2014/07/19/frampton-marsh-and-freiston-shore-recent-sightings-11th-17th-july-2014.aspx" style="background-color: white; color: #771100; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">There's more info on this Tufted Duck here. </a><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Toby Carter, </span><a href="https://twitter.com/TobyWarbler" style="background-color: white; color: #771100; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px; text-decoration: none;">@TobyWarbler</a></span><br />
Sam-Pitt Miller <a href="https://twitter.com/sampittmiller">@birdboysam</a>Toby Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10460894272214119675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6708943715748155563.post-67697628453595331562016-01-17T21:07:00.001+00:002016-01-17T21:07:31.835+00:00Freezing Day BirdingI went back to Priory Water with <a href="https://twitter.com/sampittmiller" target="_blank">Sam</a>, hoping to see 'A43' again but sadly no sign, with there being some hard cold night recently, we arrived to around 80% of Priory Water frozen over, this in some cases made it easier to count!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT0u_71tHjdM8pteIcC9jbxI3dA6yj6aQB8Dt0P79nhe7-SIuCTrleB5Fp6fypv72JHjrnN77nb4WNLjAowM5kQJ9qyMYaGOrPfZqFBt4HtkBYJ7duw_WWQPJAWheFUsyCgjNOhZC-INsH/s1600/IMG_0920.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT0u_71tHjdM8pteIcC9jbxI3dA6yj6aQB8Dt0P79nhe7-SIuCTrleB5Fp6fypv72JHjrnN77nb4WNLjAowM5kQJ9qyMYaGOrPfZqFBt4HtkBYJ7duw_WWQPJAWheFUsyCgjNOhZC-INsH/s320/IMG_0920.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Only area that wasn't frozen!</td></tr>
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Had a nice surprise of 9 Goosander in a decent flock, as well as c50 Teal, c30 Wigeon and the odd Gadwall. In the nearby trees we got some very good views of a small flock of Siskin (c10), after a bit of a search we managed to find a Little Grebe (not very common at Priory) and <a href="https://twitter.com/sampittmiller" target="_blank">Sam </a>found a Water Rail! The first of the year for me and first for this site, it was quite amusing to watch it walk briefly across the ice.<br />
But it wasn't till we were on our way back did Sam find the 1st Scaup, which was another reason for visiting. Last time i was there it was still very brown and (juvenile) looking, but now it almost looked like an adult with the white back and lovely green sheen on its head when the light caught it. We watched the Scaup for the next 3/4 hour, till we head strange noises coming from the ice, turned out to be a young Mute Swan skidding along the ice trying to get to land.<br />
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Here are a series of Scaup photos taken from my DSLR though the telescope. Plus photos of the Mute Swan.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeXlxEsS0j_AnFGwO7Vgjq-5vLrUEpd9hxjOU8W3w81V4pqoFZM6JbMyWUzE4Mq0tQMyFTRL-EYE7rTXbSenFfgbe5HhQlQZzTW53HJY_caux_rcj-ZjDCzXEK4oIsrbwu9qm7k-FSwFch/s1600/IMG_0883.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeXlxEsS0j_AnFGwO7Vgjq-5vLrUEpd9hxjOU8W3w81V4pqoFZM6JbMyWUzE4Mq0tQMyFTRL-EYE7rTXbSenFfgbe5HhQlQZzTW53HJY_caux_rcj-ZjDCzXEK4oIsrbwu9qm7k-FSwFch/s320/IMG_0883.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1st Winter Scaup</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6N_SIw_aRAWMyCd_x9AIlPeeS-R5ac8eMZHM52uz9cpuN4QEyYZ6tUVlWVYnLcy7ki0iHgV6C4aaqttLeVJk8MvycKDpdSfkVStP3yJvIUkVlLjbnbAVJQ-wzQ5ReFXIpYWe5ubbS5dOS/s1600/IMG_0908.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6N_SIw_aRAWMyCd_x9AIlPeeS-R5ac8eMZHM52uz9cpuN4QEyYZ6tUVlWVYnLcy7ki0iHgV6C4aaqttLeVJk8MvycKDpdSfkVStP3yJvIUkVlLjbnbAVJQ-wzQ5ReFXIpYWe5ubbS5dOS/s320/IMG_0908.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1st Winter Scaup</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxJMxG8EV_c-fPSe4RlwuC9DTM0ITa84Gow5oB2BbMjvQLRIUBDll8pwFkLWcMfyf77ldri8WL0LNUxpSDUmunRu-ZKnofP0_USQTKPKDf9mhqhlO2tBK5_ZKSOrJay_u0zSOhyphenhyphenfoddycd/s1600/IMG_0914.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxJMxG8EV_c-fPSe4RlwuC9DTM0ITa84Gow5oB2BbMjvQLRIUBDll8pwFkLWcMfyf77ldri8WL0LNUxpSDUmunRu-ZKnofP0_USQTKPKDf9mhqhlO2tBK5_ZKSOrJay_u0zSOhyphenhyphenfoddycd/s320/IMG_0914.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1st Winter Scaup</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5-yWPmAnUN-V8VnhRG0L_HVlX5OId0KxtCRkdXda7ykg5lieqrGTTRqlV7soYIs4cDsVxjTezdrO8IlgtqkzShYrrE3SG4zJQwnzLRp-BJYpvPLzAVFMrTTMyFuWxkaeY5HU8jTL0caZd/s1600/IMG_0918.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5-yWPmAnUN-V8VnhRG0L_HVlX5OId0KxtCRkdXda7ykg5lieqrGTTRqlV7soYIs4cDsVxjTezdrO8IlgtqkzShYrrE3SG4zJQwnzLRp-BJYpvPLzAVFMrTTMyFuWxkaeY5HU8jTL0caZd/s320/IMG_0918.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1st Winter Scaup</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidyDo2jNRxlsQfdmDCAtcSdg3s0LDnJvmsbGm0Bc5WNkbZRgZcqBdAXEyw4eUUoGvmOFRZGYKDkz5rNaPsHtk5H0TsDWQPUQBZPv7PRk-eayms-xXT0NekJSgnxOSWRwu_4jQfssmgwywh/s1600/IMG_0961.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidyDo2jNRxlsQfdmDCAtcSdg3s0LDnJvmsbGm0Bc5WNkbZRgZcqBdAXEyw4eUUoGvmOFRZGYKDkz5rNaPsHtk5H0TsDWQPUQBZPv7PRk-eayms-xXT0NekJSgnxOSWRwu_4jQfssmgwywh/s320/IMG_0961.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1st Winter Scaup with Tufted Ducks</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiePmLxpmnvusrfgJb-u_I9muA2KLzpiGiDOX1FNchqOTF4xpspzniWt0COUvynssfdjgXJPiExV6YtiRxU7yWyJ_YR6ehVqTBeEJLUdC6oOLC_LNC3AMfq8HXYHw-NL2187NMkij5kA2UI/s1600/IMG_0932.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiePmLxpmnvusrfgJb-u_I9muA2KLzpiGiDOX1FNchqOTF4xpspzniWt0COUvynssfdjgXJPiExV6YtiRxU7yWyJ_YR6ehVqTBeEJLUdC6oOLC_LNC3AMfq8HXYHw-NL2187NMkij5kA2UI/s320/IMG_0932.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mute Swan skating</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvZSzC4EOCEDSlG1HA69MTtqccSU3w7QlKcIY0VNv3izufWxpyDNeO6YHkwN_KgmAWYB5HsDTKI0cej4E0IV7RzdDwS-dc8jzEYu2G9dcf4rFCDrI1g5PHlPDw3fivzGjxl4nROYkKzBs9/s1600/IMG_0933.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvZSzC4EOCEDSlG1HA69MTtqccSU3w7QlKcIY0VNv3izufWxpyDNeO6YHkwN_KgmAWYB5HsDTKI0cej4E0IV7RzdDwS-dc8jzEYu2G9dcf4rFCDrI1g5PHlPDw3fivzGjxl4nROYkKzBs9/s320/IMG_0933.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mute Swan skating</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHQRDVAoB4yeVSI25iYMqyUqyEzEy5iHtVsNGkj60oM4HfflAwhvUyP0boAJ6eq9SSK6ENYfezSSI_iJXuCltvxCmaDGXtZwGuf-fXwp2szihQ5YXxH9erP7sj4Sx9yhyphenhyphenqajK3iO-7PdZS/s1600/IMG_0947.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHQRDVAoB4yeVSI25iYMqyUqyEzEy5iHtVsNGkj60oM4HfflAwhvUyP0boAJ6eq9SSK6ENYfezSSI_iJXuCltvxCmaDGXtZwGuf-fXwp2szihQ5YXxH9erP7sj4Sx9yhyphenhyphenqajK3iO-7PdZS/s320/IMG_0947.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mute Swan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Toby Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10460894272214119675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6708943715748155563.post-71473923749180065522016-01-09T14:30:00.002+00:002016-01-09T14:30:22.858+00:00Patchwork Challenge (PWC 2016)For the first time I'm taking part in the ever more popular Patchwork Challenge (PWC), the aim of this is to compete not just against people in your area but across the UK, seeing who can get the most species on their local stomping ground/patch, so this year I've entered myself into it. I'm not expecting to get a high score compared to others as I've hardly got a good body of water for Waders and Ducks. But hey ho you never know what might turn up!<br />
Last year I had Crane on the patch now kicking myself for not starting last year!<br />
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My Patch for the challenge consists of Arable/Pasture fields, Hedgerows, Woodland, my village (and my garden) and a big'ish pond.<br />
All of these 'Patch' photos were taken last Summer, I know its warm but not that warm lol!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFvCtOQm2fkGjiiMmLlDa91gpxTCS2i99uRT7MInKCvKYbY13N09CapbuXyw2b9bjhUNjNnUylBszj6LEEfW5x2z590cU4d_IDjZKasWx_z0urxoWHGQi4ScBTnWqjpvSYkiiKtj3ZrUwM/s1600/IMG_1864+a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFvCtOQm2fkGjiiMmLlDa91gpxTCS2i99uRT7MInKCvKYbY13N09CapbuXyw2b9bjhUNjNnUylBszj6LEEfW5x2z590cU4d_IDjZKasWx_z0urxoWHGQi4ScBTnWqjpvSYkiiKtj3ZrUwM/s320/IMG_1864+a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfviwftIir0D9yh5abeLFunUZFEANLro4XTNZaCtjqaJjldqxPBVgIxVs9HT-Gc4nVWvhdjg9ivv4jaKVGshpyh_iKebQ2yKLuQnUKUQj6XHpe_nj4eUfsGxcBqZAZlYmEYHqxlMDRMXhN/s1600/IMG_1866+a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfviwftIir0D9yh5abeLFunUZFEANLro4XTNZaCtjqaJjldqxPBVgIxVs9HT-Gc4nVWvhdjg9ivv4jaKVGshpyh_iKebQ2yKLuQnUKUQj6XHpe_nj4eUfsGxcBqZAZlYmEYHqxlMDRMXhN/s320/IMG_1866+a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1KHQ8qnS-588TxbYexMFhQZCJVJIqbvgouDNTlElNMpLF6ZCj34A8aY3IokkvB56kToC9QRe2EUZ2lM8q3DukLO29O7-kVq-7po9mqkgP8GPWOKQ9OemEz7ltSy0HEfxmj1Z1b9ZxuD4Y/s1600/IMG_1870+a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1KHQ8qnS-588TxbYexMFhQZCJVJIqbvgouDNTlElNMpLF6ZCj34A8aY3IokkvB56kToC9QRe2EUZ2lM8q3DukLO29O7-kVq-7po9mqkgP8GPWOKQ9OemEz7ltSy0HEfxmj1Z1b9ZxuD4Y/s320/IMG_1870+a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGunqyTZCNqgshzUa4Fx1jDDc_nhlMqiOPuHFdBcw80Vhyphenhyphenfg2Zteddg6JIfxb0Zrd3zM-VInNyX3oL2dFLPotBFcPNPd62Pjk9UDrqZG4Bwht-HwsyelbKKNjvIvMXOozp88XbkwjGZeKN/s1600/IMG_1875+a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGunqyTZCNqgshzUa4Fx1jDDc_nhlMqiOPuHFdBcw80Vhyphenhyphenfg2Zteddg6JIfxb0Zrd3zM-VInNyX3oL2dFLPotBFcPNPd62Pjk9UDrqZG4Bwht-HwsyelbKKNjvIvMXOozp88XbkwjGZeKN/s320/IMG_1875+a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUHnWoj0XMiB7rJs4_isPrXRkH3Mp45Phn-Bo2P6GhU3SbD1OY2gPpShuJ7OfKTKZi3cIqhbT-oJlIonijx2RPeZ0y0dBFTcpHFV6mNh4s6cxnHOq66lj7t-DqN7Qs5tfIHlJXM_Z0sqB1/s1600/IMG_1876+a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUHnWoj0XMiB7rJs4_isPrXRkH3Mp45Phn-Bo2P6GhU3SbD1OY2gPpShuJ7OfKTKZi3cIqhbT-oJlIonijx2RPeZ0y0dBFTcpHFV6mNh4s6cxnHOq66lj7t-DqN7Qs5tfIHlJXM_Z0sqB1/s320/IMG_1876+a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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And my patch looks like this:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBfDTegQSzCYYmE5aQk2kVgLRi87ZeXlnrkq9QUwerg1XExi54Zf7_GiEqeBbeddIJtKt6QIl4YckyzGdQUT7sP7xeSzAE09rlu9MeY64sEZ6STlxCz0Ip8wJJmP2Ms092Q9JyiBn1zlhU/s1600/zxeI8vap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBfDTegQSzCYYmE5aQk2kVgLRi87ZeXlnrkq9QUwerg1XExi54Zf7_GiEqeBbeddIJtKt6QIl4YckyzGdQUT7sP7xeSzAE09rlu9MeY64sEZ6STlxCz0Ip8wJJmP2Ms092Q9JyiBn1zlhU/s320/zxeI8vap.jpg" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Using PWC website<br /><br /><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9dp4d-XqdfFBMNNRZYW7aV305nrtKuz7S3oZXV9G_5erJdiJNhePGkgkM-hDJSuRM9Ud-_Rp0PyrimHZvp2-S3sfAQkBwsOL6L9M9RGPpbhZBWjWVOm3R1LA1U3GV54LJUVNDIAXMz0vv/s1600/Untitled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9dp4d-XqdfFBMNNRZYW7aV305nrtKuz7S3oZXV9G_5erJdiJNhePGkgkM-hDJSuRM9Ud-_Rp0PyrimHZvp2-S3sfAQkBwsOL6L9M9RGPpbhZBWjWVOm3R1LA1U3GV54LJUVNDIAXMz0vv/s320/Untitled.jpg" width="276" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Entire Patch quite big!</td></tr>
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So at the end of each month I send of my records to PWC, and I'll do a blog post hopefully rounding up what myself and Dad have seen.<br />
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Here is a link to PWC: <a href="http://patchworkchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">http://patchworkchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/ </a>Toby Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10460894272214119675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6708943715748155563.post-30864183670936884432016-01-08T20:33:00.001+00:002016-01-08T20:33:18.938+00:00What a year!!!!2015 has been an awesome year full of surprise and memories that I will treasure for a life time!<br />
So here is a top 7 of my favourite places/things I've done over the last 12 months:<br />
<h3>
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<h3>
7: Catching first Elephant Hawkmoth</h3>
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This year as many of you my dad and I started Moth-ing for the first time but by far the highlight of this was catching a lovely Elephant Hawkmoth, we later went on to catch Poplar Hawkmoth and finding a Hummingbird Hawkmoth feeding on our Lavenders for the second year on the run, to see last years post on this Moth click on the link:<a href="http://grimstonwarbler.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/hummingbird-hawkmoth.html" target="_blank">Hummingbird Hawkmoth</a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhtSKF4ypJ7Ki76ZUg4JBDxzM8pFNxNpIkfsAhCl2CFNapfG_lf_c3Aj1VcD7Ky07wIjAB7mQfJwR_AhkZgcNXyRu1Z9va2sk096r3C77tK84PydoZooRmRKAikcF1WKeX8YC5MXiuah3m/s1600/IMG_0269.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhtSKF4ypJ7Ki76ZUg4JBDxzM8pFNxNpIkfsAhCl2CFNapfG_lf_c3Aj1VcD7Ky07wIjAB7mQfJwR_AhkZgcNXyRu1Z9va2sk096r3C77tK84PydoZooRmRKAikcF1WKeX8YC5MXiuah3m/s320/IMG_0269.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elephant Hawkmoth</td></tr>
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<h3>
</h3>
<h3>
6: Rutland Water Work Experience</h3>
Last summer I spent 5 days working with the staff at Rutland Water (Wildlife Trust), which I helped with a range of jobs; till work, helping with the Osprey Project and my favourite part was helping with the final touches to the new <a href="http://www.lrwt.org.uk/news-events/news/314-sir-david-opens-volunteer-training-centre/" target="_blank">Volunteer Centre </a> in which David Attenborough opened! During my two days helping with the Management team, I found a Little Ringed Plover nest, on the new site! For the two days during lunch time I was monitoring the parents as they incubate the nest.<br />
Another highlight included finding a Great White Egret on my final day, this bird ended up staying till almost September.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZv0cww3qhFwUpARwOgh_rDwDp_bhqCZpa8nOd6aQS33tfVff69_tMeoAKQTOxFhHtFzJX2Tg39XCMFilf5G07Vb0RJqSKB2ECBpQODg_-SwJXSaA363Hu7Ymj_GO0iX2eRBnWCL7Gv5do/s1600/IMG_1928.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZv0cww3qhFwUpARwOgh_rDwDp_bhqCZpa8nOd6aQS33tfVff69_tMeoAKQTOxFhHtFzJX2Tg39XCMFilf5G07Vb0RJqSKB2ECBpQODg_-SwJXSaA363Hu7Ymj_GO0iX2eRBnWCL7Gv5do/s320/IMG_1928.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Little-Ringed Plover eggs</td></tr>
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<h3>
5:Ringing</h3>
<div>
This year I've done a lot of ringing, and there has been so many highlights but to narrow it down here are a selection of photos that have been highlights, others include ringing 4 Reed Warbler Chicks, Adult female Kestrel, House Martins.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg02eNffqi3ibxq_PmN3u31FUO8KsYI24VE5zJ_LtRg_cjCpk_kh-PPpz5HROb7eMMKctGOi8Fooj3IJUzHf035CN9R2tzqMEtU37eHGSWuw00sZKxFTd3tQK5Rdhc-JeQxlz98xzuMOb-3/s1600/IMG_0603.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg02eNffqi3ibxq_PmN3u31FUO8KsYI24VE5zJ_LtRg_cjCpk_kh-PPpz5HROb7eMMKctGOi8Fooj3IJUzHf035CN9R2tzqMEtU37eHGSWuw00sZKxFTd3tQK5Rdhc-JeQxlz98xzuMOb-3/s320/IMG_0603.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Redshank</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Ke6ET8G6BfQ712F1ylPZG5VwU8Bj3gjGxv7JgHs9RuUSSM-CWNEJhyphenhyphenXPyXokUDcot0W0T4KfvYNnYn7IAUBd6obWdn3bjYXK6dgy1snaa8KD2NEWSBbeLZDB0PhxeAhj4yLerxtpiPne/s1600/IMG_1068.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Ke6ET8G6BfQ712F1ylPZG5VwU8Bj3gjGxv7JgHs9RuUSSM-CWNEJhyphenhyphenXPyXokUDcot0W0T4KfvYNnYn7IAUBd6obWdn3bjYXK6dgy1snaa8KD2NEWSBbeLZDB0PhxeAhj4yLerxtpiPne/s320/IMG_1068.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tawny Owl Chicks</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnYqfMoGA9DHLG9sA2dite7Pya-geWYzYn3zfJGwKvF8gttpGsyqhWA11exbeDznbVK0OuT7zjXOK_141zqNetfwLx2eWWEXESKMTEkeKLy05MsBQt2p0Her94jIIG3m_-nT4-9STuc6UI/s1600/IMG_1076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnYqfMoGA9DHLG9sA2dite7Pya-geWYzYn3zfJGwKvF8gttpGsyqhWA11exbeDznbVK0OuT7zjXOK_141zqNetfwLx2eWWEXESKMTEkeKLy05MsBQt2p0Her94jIIG3m_-nT4-9STuc6UI/s320/IMG_1076.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adult Female Little Owl</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXg51O_CwVvluawLvqmDje42ZTc_czfeWCdpZDFB7TdhWferNgNi2G0Uq5zZn4_i6B5vkTvo4h-DXFqEbQlNtn1YcvIKgUBihUmpNptmUWYAfC7AZVvC12EtaX2Jzze25oCgmpyttslWzR/s1600/IMG_1127.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXg51O_CwVvluawLvqmDje42ZTc_czfeWCdpZDFB7TdhWferNgNi2G0Uq5zZn4_i6B5vkTvo4h-DXFqEbQlNtn1YcvIKgUBihUmpNptmUWYAfC7AZVvC12EtaX2Jzze25oCgmpyttslWzR/s320/IMG_1127.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carrion Crow Chick</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo-QyleGLEVmYMCkKqm7v2fJl9Wg9-pD15dCg-XzIJLnyU_jHzYj2vKHeUJRkDrt7cPcil6YMHoc4yYPhOckRiyBgL9Iz7jzoCIyWET3bMRWPXJz2LgmNaC5fLZRGSaFOb_1FqrNy-B9u0/s1600/IMG_1135.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo-QyleGLEVmYMCkKqm7v2fJl9Wg9-pD15dCg-XzIJLnyU_jHzYj2vKHeUJRkDrt7cPcil6YMHoc4yYPhOckRiyBgL9Iz7jzoCIyWET3bMRWPXJz2LgmNaC5fLZRGSaFOb_1FqrNy-B9u0/s320/IMG_1135.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adult Stock Dove</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxGi8bZ0brOv2GUy3PsfjhuP7OtsSyeQqDf_FxwySVFadBs3hQdvjWsjV1967v5IaRUDQXYMqKEzmP3nPvVPCryQ9pB6awtKdX6ExoKYxwWPHvF8U1UaiOtjzEodhzq2J6tbkPT4ljLaQI/s1600/IMG_1845.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxGi8bZ0brOv2GUy3PsfjhuP7OtsSyeQqDf_FxwySVFadBs3hQdvjWsjV1967v5IaRUDQXYMqKEzmP3nPvVPCryQ9pB6awtKdX6ExoKYxwWPHvF8U1UaiOtjzEodhzq2J6tbkPT4ljLaQI/s320/IMG_1845.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lapwing Chick</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVHQ60e30jOHsv2aCnFxpfxt-J-vP7m2PRFhh6dCo0XbF3oVyeIkDYMtYf1JW6skR83KIeCk9rgEBT_BeHexYto8BV-azQW0hZSl71AsWgXQ1Dwgo_wGVXXYYS-uOC9BaGlHKsg3XgeAtJ/s1600/IMG_1849.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVHQ60e30jOHsv2aCnFxpfxt-J-vP7m2PRFhh6dCo0XbF3oVyeIkDYMtYf1JW6skR83KIeCk9rgEBT_BeHexYto8BV-azQW0hZSl71AsWgXQ1Dwgo_wGVXXYYS-uOC9BaGlHKsg3XgeAtJ/s320/IMG_1849.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Little Ringed Plover Chick</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXbkKN5LQgSAjVqlHw8qVzUlJjTFeUZ-sDHJRbCLP7aEbMdsvGkHkFND3uRr9Ajj0izfIohx0UtDdjVnOtI9jCZqlyQPt5aXGO1-TNx7oGK4BaFJwzlvqEnAc2ZZRWCfy_kvnLKOVPOFsk/s1600/IMG_1906.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXbkKN5LQgSAjVqlHw8qVzUlJjTFeUZ-sDHJRbCLP7aEbMdsvGkHkFND3uRr9Ajj0izfIohx0UtDdjVnOtI9jCZqlyQPt5aXGO1-TNx7oGK4BaFJwzlvqEnAc2ZZRWCfy_kvnLKOVPOFsk/s320/IMG_1906.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barn Owl chicks</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjxqRfbQtpRXrEHBm-Kr4hQHkwnHR_3gWtHSPHUB-A-dUZXnB98zhsNnAhrrd3h_PiD6k8_10mT4cHsMCC9oAG5J1MdPoMqTyQeiRNcirTuxhhONTeILckHeWe1aeQPV_oALC74RbzFXrR/s1600/IMG_2605.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjxqRfbQtpRXrEHBm-Kr4hQHkwnHR_3gWtHSPHUB-A-dUZXnB98zhsNnAhrrd3h_PiD6k8_10mT4cHsMCC9oAG5J1MdPoMqTyQeiRNcirTuxhhONTeILckHeWe1aeQPV_oALC74RbzFXrR/s320/IMG_2605.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adult Male Green Woodpecker</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQBpiFxF1oorkAjkdEdE4Tnlxk1sVE2-onwM7MwM-8nNLd-FSlrd4KFE8PLoRJzpctp1oremmal0Uh9fpBCK_vhKIT5ktHHhLiDvwqaohzblw7V766Xi8Um2UzAHg3erhVhnlGB2DVlvk5/s1600/IMG_2809.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQBpiFxF1oorkAjkdEdE4Tnlxk1sVE2-onwM7MwM-8nNLd-FSlrd4KFE8PLoRJzpctp1oremmal0Uh9fpBCK_vhKIT5ktHHhLiDvwqaohzblw7V766Xi8Um2UzAHg3erhVhnlGB2DVlvk5/s320/IMG_2809.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lesser Whitethroat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3uhcKZA-X0TPb2Z88cBwxPVLrc_3LY-OhrB12o2i5hep0YAbsyn0ZjN6P6CivkTl2im_SGPbWmK9PfZcdO-tyMnSw_I3FhWR9tOWzOomFfIlPNCa9gVEqa12uZOUnVui6C2fjcwzZHeW2/s1600/IMG_2811.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3uhcKZA-X0TPb2Z88cBwxPVLrc_3LY-OhrB12o2i5hep0YAbsyn0ZjN6P6CivkTl2im_SGPbWmK9PfZcdO-tyMnSw_I3FhWR9tOWzOomFfIlPNCa9gVEqa12uZOUnVui6C2fjcwzZHeW2/s320/IMG_2811.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Willow Tit</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<h3>
</h3>
<h3>
4: Birdfair 2015</h3>
Birdfair is always a highlight of my year, but Birdfair 2015 was brilliant, as I got to help out with the BTO on both their stands (ringing and 'normal') stand, I had the help from friends <a href="https://twitter.com/Ben_Moyes16" target="_blank">Ben Moyes</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/ev1e_miller" target="_blank">Evie Miller</a> to see the BTO's new membership 'Young Birders', if your under the age of 18 and are interested please click on this link:<a href="http://btoyoungbirders.blogspot.co.uk/">http://btoyoungbirders.blogspot.co.uk/</a><br />
Also another highlight of the Birdfair, was the Birdfair's first comedy/children's book play. With the likes of Nick Baker, Mike Dilger, Dominic Couzens, Bill Oddie, Lucy McRobert and Rob Lambert, all staring in this hilarious play!<br />
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<h3>
</h3>
<h3>
</h3>
<h3>
3: House Martin Survey</h3>
<div>
This is a survey that my dad and myself have started, we started last year ringing adult and Juvenile House Martins, the reason for this study is that we've had this string colony on our house for the last 6+ years and we want to know more about it, were hoping to learn if the same pair use the same nest each year or if the juveniles from last year use the nest to breed in that they fledged from the previous year. This is going to be a long term study that we are carrying out, but it nicely coincides with the BTO's House Martin survey (I'll put some links to that at the bottom).<br />
So we were into our second year of this survey, last year we ringed 13 birds - (9 adult and 4 juvenile), this year we ringed 17 birds -( 10 adults and 7 Juvenile) and 3 re-traps but all of the re-traps were adults which is interesting. We were also monitoring all of the these bar one, which was too high for us to reach with a ladder. So the survey is doing so well and can't wait to carry it on.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCjRZowI_S4gXAClAqe9D3QWKCOdzRFpgZT9jSuCxagw8T0gl7_JP4tO6Z1HtUonDov5fZCSLWRrjcmEI7fZjzTTK9Vm_W-nI-GrreGPTKGQtf29OZPGNHT6RYGIy-_I6U-noX187UTWMY/s1600/Bsrh1G5CcAEi9LW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCjRZowI_S4gXAClAqe9D3QWKCOdzRFpgZT9jSuCxagw8T0gl7_JP4tO6Z1HtUonDov5fZCSLWRrjcmEI7fZjzTTK9Vm_W-nI-GrreGPTKGQtf29OZPGNHT6RYGIy-_I6U-noX187UTWMY/s320/Bsrh1G5CcAEi9LW.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Copyright Toby Carter</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ9X3uMcI74XBjwf_v8yUlvDtBnyekD_VjdjgQJ5lJeQTj14sBo1lkSvPHK84-F0xDg-mnB-FLR6WvbEjEL5ZmDlX0h-5nzMYou29fPKWfRxCV2QsoN5Yh-i5se5PwwfWnpJePYnrMesxM/s1600/B0Jv_knCUAAo7_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ9X3uMcI74XBjwf_v8yUlvDtBnyekD_VjdjgQJ5lJeQTj14sBo1lkSvPHK84-F0xDg-mnB-FLR6WvbEjEL5ZmDlX0h-5nzMYou29fPKWfRxCV2QsoN5Yh-i5se5PwwfWnpJePYnrMesxM/s320/B0Jv_knCUAAo7_1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Copyright BTO</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjRPWkQ6FsNp5L-tqjIH7g9b2RtIKVXJjTfG9mFvIM-eIuXh4X6N34mOs2w6JwJU_MyksaFrUy5yMh83oJ2Iu5IXu0Ym2Mb4mrfpJ3akchnAhkFHHSeDA6MFmHIJErpJRohuKLkDNANXrO/s1600/house-martin-appeal-logo-300px.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjRPWkQ6FsNp5L-tqjIH7g9b2RtIKVXJjTfG9mFvIM-eIuXh4X6N34mOs2w6JwJU_MyksaFrUy5yMh83oJ2Iu5IXu0Ym2Mb4mrfpJ3akchnAhkFHHSeDA6MFmHIJErpJRohuKLkDNANXrO/s1600/house-martin-appeal-logo-300px.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Copyright BTO</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDK9RQujwr2pY75yWBeLd96RAZhD_TG98QtoZpjy7AEfoKJO6edBGC1ztxCe78MpRk62G__Mwjo_hoelZQD1aEz07SEkyZvQPwKQEE1Al3bsBFHrng6LhnpuuNAUKju5AxJRurwvy5z_er/s1600/House+Martin+pics+DB+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDK9RQujwr2pY75yWBeLd96RAZhD_TG98QtoZpjy7AEfoKJO6edBGC1ztxCe78MpRk62G__Mwjo_hoelZQD1aEz07SEkyZvQPwKQEE1Al3bsBFHrng6LhnpuuNAUKju5AxJRurwvy5z_er/s320/House+Martin+pics+DB+3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Copyright BTO</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV3taJZLTml-HMBlAYWRzIl4RNSfP84jRpGToD3qhAcLyQqFNY8oYwC-7cg9ZgDwFOCSUHq3b4s2lN0ziwp5jEiPc7HFtOPz9dWfNmOXFnmFlPSqgC1LvXB6F-KcHfne4bp__8-eIgclLk/s1600/House+Martin+pics+DB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV3taJZLTml-HMBlAYWRzIl4RNSfP84jRpGToD3qhAcLyQqFNY8oYwC-7cg9ZgDwFOCSUHq3b4s2lN0ziwp5jEiPc7HFtOPz9dWfNmOXFnmFlPSqgC1LvXB6F-KcHfne4bp__8-eIgclLk/s320/House+Martin+pics+DB.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Copyright BTO</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<h3>
</h3>
<h3>
2: BTO Work Experience</h3>
I've already got a big blog post on this, but it was an amazing highlight so won't touch on it too much, I got to ring a Water Rail, stand in reeds and water upto my chest for a day (It was awesome), being in the audience at Springwatch plus many many more things so please check out the blog post - <a href="http://grimstonwarbler.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/bto-work-experience-26-29th-may.html" target="_blank">http://grimstonwarbler.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/bto-work-experience-26-29th-may.html </a><br />
<h3>
</h3>
<h3>
</h3>
<h3>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi83NTjscJUlUAbwlM-vXzgUSZ_B84mlVd5MmdFAqxrgyPRMx_NP-RLadteMUNauwkNQABggAk1vfPuEB6IRi1EQzVhu57QsILZKtm4mCLFByRQmYn3MskufT_DbAeOwo45_WAwIJStPm6o/s1600/IMG_1292.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi83NTjscJUlUAbwlM-vXzgUSZ_B84mlVd5MmdFAqxrgyPRMx_NP-RLadteMUNauwkNQABggAk1vfPuEB6IRi1EQzVhu57QsILZKtm4mCLFByRQmYn3MskufT_DbAeOwo45_WAwIJStPm6o/s320/IMG_1292.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reeds</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil2ezfQlSIewtTiZ6sGtADQzBIhAp_5OM49a8IVpgjm4fqMb57YJqUleNxAcfeSj__1bNNt_a_DX4CwB6LEzO0U9O95Ql1FpFcFKzJnMus-U0Ln9ZsvJaAHuirj2kciH80eyrU3aQbMLwN/s1600/IMG_1299.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil2ezfQlSIewtTiZ6sGtADQzBIhAp_5OM49a8IVpgjm4fqMb57YJqUleNxAcfeSj__1bNNt_a_DX4CwB6LEzO0U9O95Ql1FpFcFKzJnMus-U0Ln9ZsvJaAHuirj2kciH80eyrU3aQbMLwN/s320/IMG_1299.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Copyright Lee Barber</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis9FnR9GHY2kFszTzqD7hjXYhV-rtjbbc8qMIBIOlnK7ENLPGpW9-KTH1mpXfp-hcIsI21shaP-V4Q33r_lOefXrGuBSCeSUgA426ZIlF8nRiTdKkJyU-fd8M7ue4VoNrfHPcIjVRKesjU/s1600/IMG_1276.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis9FnR9GHY2kFszTzqD7hjXYhV-rtjbbc8qMIBIOlnK7ENLPGpW9-KTH1mpXfp-hcIsI21shaP-V4Q33r_lOefXrGuBSCeSUgA426ZIlF8nRiTdKkJyU-fd8M7ue4VoNrfHPcIjVRKesjU/s320/IMG_1276.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reed Warbler nest</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdm3aomVHytlINjCv5XRy_3BAFhJg7m-RFis2CLWki2T0y_ijx5AXsXhwydtwyBeDjSXDYg0q_7fiq98FF7Ce_Izx2g3ruDhbfW93cfl-KIsJlj9prZ1C5JwHRwVSPHKRRJG0d10DlOco3/s1600/IMG_1302.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdm3aomVHytlINjCv5XRy_3BAFhJg7m-RFis2CLWki2T0y_ijx5AXsXhwydtwyBeDjSXDYg0q_7fiq98FF7Ce_Izx2g3ruDhbfW93cfl-KIsJlj9prZ1C5JwHRwVSPHKRRJG0d10DlOco3/s320/IMG_1302.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Springwatch Audience</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ed3TBy80NINfFGPT_uJBaYyQjkel6zW6kAh7A8gbbn2j1YV7-lo5UNzGIrGHqD1qP_ICyzZeuzx7XhkuGHQsOiEU8AnJmx0QRDi7M64PMGVvYfVtip6MTF8Gs4MR4fTZnEMwHcRwNSm6/s1600/IMG_1303.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ed3TBy80NINfFGPT_uJBaYyQjkel6zW6kAh7A8gbbn2j1YV7-lo5UNzGIrGHqD1qP_ICyzZeuzx7XhkuGHQsOiEU8AnJmx0QRDi7M64PMGVvYfVtip6MTF8Gs4MR4fTZnEMwHcRwNSm6/s320/IMG_1303.JPG" width="291" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me in the background Copyright Ben Moyes</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h3>
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<h3>
<br /></h3>
<h3>
1: SCILLY ISLES</h3>
<div>
This was definitely without a doubt the highlight of my year, again there is a big blog post on it but some of the highlights were; BLYTH'S PIPIT, HUD WHIMREL, RF-BLUETAIL, MINKE WALE AND FINDING MY FIRST ORTOLAN BUNTING and that is just a few,so please if you haven't read the post please do! <a href="http://grimstonwarbler.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/holy-grail-of-birding-scilly-isles.html" target="_blank">SCILLY POST!!!!!</a></div>
<h3>
</h3>
<h3>
</h3>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH7wPBv2ubz2CEg43B6ZBAffbW441dXfWMTBRhIX5rUWjXnrq29ZWWpoZLaudC9579rp5hiS6G8gv_PdDpRKpxKClKYd4WUDiimqA1aiNfEYawd_p-ZWoXbO01Bgh2lketrmFND3uMO9IC/s1600/IMG_1589.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH7wPBv2ubz2CEg43B6ZBAffbW441dXfWMTBRhIX5rUWjXnrq29ZWWpoZLaudC9579rp5hiS6G8gv_PdDpRKpxKClKYd4WUDiimqA1aiNfEYawd_p-ZWoXbO01Bgh2lketrmFND3uMO9IC/s320/IMG_1589.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">YB Warbler</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC0cgRDAr5bxj-Sz6NC6qV5tF6me4pxH3Ku0syABWg5Df5uWd1vmkMKhciI910N6YX8pN8PARMchaOXEcRrHlEUiO4DyXvxwgmPFDSCcaj1Nit27ahafl2KscXBGKaKmAUEHjDL3CrhmbZ/s1600/IMG_3541.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC0cgRDAr5bxj-Sz6NC6qV5tF6me4pxH3Ku0syABWg5Df5uWd1vmkMKhciI910N6YX8pN8PARMchaOXEcRrHlEUiO4DyXvxwgmPFDSCcaj1Nit27ahafl2KscXBGKaKmAUEHjDL3CrhmbZ/s320/IMG_3541.JPG" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">RF-Bluetail</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhltrTaeD4SmAWufJ96qhxAYg5X350xLAK97b-F8dhzSsNcZtiDblC9FoU5zRfhcvGW-qQYylLFPulD6ARZ3Y1haefxWHYFFUCag_M_NMUsCGTeYOjngLS_KBO2mkyW6UZFIzb2DqWO7omH/s1600/IMG_1466.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhltrTaeD4SmAWufJ96qhxAYg5X350xLAK97b-F8dhzSsNcZtiDblC9FoU5zRfhcvGW-qQYylLFPulD6ARZ3Y1haefxWHYFFUCag_M_NMUsCGTeYOjngLS_KBO2mkyW6UZFIzb2DqWO7omH/s320/IMG_1466.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hud Whimbrel</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGQrta1WzNF7AbYZzKRhHEpY46FC42alm7FWsiDhIQPtRVq7KX5NnSlJ2kNeshzEsf3OSQbn8l6mOw-q_bSnDcZC03YkwYudxPjGDac6SBYazCeODKvx2Fq1_wQdExOnJhXL0zSpaqBjeO/s1600/IMG_3622.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGQrta1WzNF7AbYZzKRhHEpY46FC42alm7FWsiDhIQPtRVq7KX5NnSlJ2kNeshzEsf3OSQbn8l6mOw-q_bSnDcZC03YkwYudxPjGDac6SBYazCeODKvx2Fq1_wQdExOnJhXL0zSpaqBjeO/s320/IMG_3622.JPG" width="319" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My ORTOLAN BUNTING</td></tr>
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House Martins : <a href="http://grimstonwarbler.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/the-house-martins-need-you.html">http://grimstonwarbler.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/the-house-martins-need-you.html</a><br />
<br />
Thanks for reading and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!Toby Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10460894272214119675noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6708943715748155563.post-15952100984035957892015-11-07T16:31:00.002+00:002015-11-07T16:31:46.374+00:00Holy Grail of Birding SCILLY ISLES <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">My family
and I were going to the Scilly Isles for the first time, and the main reason
being for my dad and I to go birding/twitching around the beautiful islands.</span></div>
<h1>
<span style="font-size: small;">Day 1</span></h1>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">It firstly
started with getting up around midnight for a 6<sup>1/2</sup> hour journey to
Penzance, luckily I managed to sleep in the car so the hours flew past, when we
reached Penzance it was still dark with dawn only just breaking, with the low
sea mist we could make out St Michaels mount in the distance. We got our
luggage loaded onto the Scillonian III, and 2 <sup>1/2 </sup>hours of
seawatching began, we started with 6 Guillemots flew past, with the odd Shag
floating out at sea, then the masses of Gannets were everywhere by far the most
common bird we saw on the whole of our week, but when the weather cleared and
warmed we spotted the odd flock of Puffins fly past but the star of the
crossing was around 7 Common Dolphins bow riding within a mile or so of St
Marys.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-fU02K8tFSoo7TvSY4hV93jl1wbAXYorwNRDYTybh86dw2Osn43Pj3zWNrwxlJ86sKypwTlA6I9n79-qZk_nGTyGAw4BNwRvs7XNSTGQrWcDc9CRWOIMjL8h1tJXaV37EpVIcJTJV8Qle/s1600/IMG_1403.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-fU02K8tFSoo7TvSY4hV93jl1wbAXYorwNRDYTybh86dw2Osn43Pj3zWNrwxlJ86sKypwTlA6I9n79-qZk_nGTyGAw4BNwRvs7XNSTGQrWcDc9CRWOIMjL8h1tJXaV37EpVIcJTJV8Qle/s320/IMG_1403.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Land Ahoy!</span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">When we
reached dry land at Hugh Town, which is a beautiful town on St Marys, we were
greeted by Lucy McRobert and Rob Lambert
we walked to our flat where we were opposite the road to the Scillonian Club,
which is where the bird log takes place throughout October. So my dad and I
dropped of our bags and went with Rob and Lucy to see our first of 12 lifers
during the week and what a way to start with the Blyths Pipit at </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; letter-spacing: 0.2pt; line-height: 115%;">Penninis Head, showing very well in one of the pasture
fields along Penninis's point, then it was straight off to Old Town churchyard
for Firecrest and hopefully Yellow-browed Warbler (YBW), but sadly no luck so
off to Lower Moors for another lifer the 2 Little Buntings but again we dipped
on these two birds after waiting for 30mins, off to find our own and get
another lifer, then at the famous pool that hosted the Northern Waterthrush for
a few weeks (Shooters Pool) we found a bird not as exciting but still a lifer
for me Jack Snipe<b><i>, </i></b>Rob and Lucy had suggested a brilliant cafe overlooking
Hughtown, the famous Juliet's Cafe on our way we had White Wagtail and Black
Redstart plus a very showy Greenshank, when we arrived the view was brilliant,
after having the best Ginger Beer of my life (Non-alcoholic), we went for the
possible 'Siberian Stonechat', which we saw but listening over the radio for
the next 2 days and bird logs, the bird was deemed to be an odd plumage Common
Stonechat, that was the end of what the birders called 'Chat Wars!'. After
having 2 lifers in a day including a mega we decided to call it a day, but just
outside Lower moors I spotted a small bird flitting in some blackthorn bushes,
it revealed to be my first Firecrest it was only a glimpse of the birds face
but the eye stripe was distinctive enough. So day 1 ended with 3 lifers with
still many more awesome birds being spotted around the Isles.</span></div>
</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZrcKUMXZIv3CbBoMcuO4SEpsq3vC16gcDDglv7Pk3wj_zq_aZTtx29k9NrhQB-1vMoIZRgHeCTJjSmBfdg65_7KJc8-Qk3IfYvEUADouJE6tvzrZxYpLuTPyWdMrCL3vh9HFtjBzpcE2w/s1600/IMG_3434.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZrcKUMXZIv3CbBoMcuO4SEpsq3vC16gcDDglv7Pk3wj_zq_aZTtx29k9NrhQB-1vMoIZRgHeCTJjSmBfdg65_7KJc8-Qk3IfYvEUADouJE6tvzrZxYpLuTPyWdMrCL3vh9HFtjBzpcE2w/s320/IMG_3434.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blyth's Pipit</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXot_Nz7tYugDeAgfRkcsSK5YgkIln2YZf6PftvqHI04G_uYNOP-JeSBcSGZGZDHADJdhsBoBRfpAG_FSF6MUyV0S5K8rokTnEi76dHZyuTlALUd0BPOz_I7o8TdG0eEtbayKTCrV5mgKh/s1600/IMG_1426.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXot_Nz7tYugDeAgfRkcsSK5YgkIln2YZf6PftvqHI04G_uYNOP-JeSBcSGZGZDHADJdhsBoBRfpAG_FSF6MUyV0S5K8rokTnEi76dHZyuTlALUd0BPOz_I7o8TdG0eEtbayKTCrV5mgKh/s320/IMG_1426.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Juliet's Garden Waiters!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZH_j5rweQqfow_RW7lJSaR30iD15ByiP0x8ZfM3vq3UOmU4QmL6z8FiSlWBA23FUFc8WnPHfwd1IAGJXzguOuJpKORKiDfBDA0qYQ__ZEkhyQTZb9UW8rY_M_h4uOvS4yQxjELtyKi8QZ/s1600/IMG_3437.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZH_j5rweQqfow_RW7lJSaR30iD15ByiP0x8ZfM3vq3UOmU4QmL6z8FiSlWBA23FUFc8WnPHfwd1IAGJXzguOuJpKORKiDfBDA0qYQ__ZEkhyQTZb9UW8rY_M_h4uOvS4yQxjELtyKi8QZ/s320/IMG_3437.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jack Snipe</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Ow89i2nnmFGPiiWrXcetMgi_-hXGhbVJQ3Y771E9MaNSvJPNFkjm_2j3hl0c8Hmxl82UK9A-BRAl3EZNWjB1KdSxXc5gENxVFMZNr7s9jOKgzppSKIoTdisBgaXFJOkWPxFRL0m1JNBy/s1600/IMG_3440.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Ow89i2nnmFGPiiWrXcetMgi_-hXGhbVJQ3Y771E9MaNSvJPNFkjm_2j3hl0c8Hmxl82UK9A-BRAl3EZNWjB1KdSxXc5gENxVFMZNr7s9jOKgzppSKIoTdisBgaXFJOkWPxFRL0m1JNBy/s320/IMG_3440.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Celebration looking at Hughtown in the distant</td></tr>
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<h1>
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></h1>
<h1>
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;">Day 2 <o:p></o:p></span></span></h1>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: 115%;"><span style="background-color: white;">My dad and I decided to go to Tresco for the Hudsonian Whimbrel and
other birds, on the boat Rob spotted a Spoonbill that had been seen for a few
days on a rocky outcrop, a good sign for a good days birding, as soon as we
landed at New Grimsby quay, Lucy went in search of a confiding Pallas Warbler,
as Rob took us through a short cut to Gimble Porth where the 'Hud' Whimbrel was
showing, when we arrived it hadn't been reported that morning typical! But only
a few minutes of searching this bird, a photographer that quickly I got 'camera
envy', but getting distracted he had re-found this bird sitting in a rock only
a few metres from me! So in under 24 hours on Scilly I had 4 new lifers under
my belt with two of them being megas! After watching this bird for about 1/2
hour it finally flew showing no white rump, but I still need a Eurasian
Whimbrel! We started walking back when we heard of group of Skylarks fly over
but two 'bunting' like birds with them buntings are very uncommon on Scilly, then
one of the birds called and some of the birds recognise this as a Lapland
Bunting, after a bit of searching the local fields, the birds flew into the air
and landed on a nearby wall, giving us a glimpse but good enough view of this
bird. So not even been on Tresco for a day and already on 2 lifers.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeCfihFcYoaV2Irc5ZR4CHJ-vl51UIKW8G8UCwQjjcvpLPTHNNXCr7efHmz5nsOF-dSHqdeykIu66xt9HFo424cdEN0EL0iT__9vb-WLg0pKa6zpSOt-cAeAG6LIp-20qTOOBcu7NG8tQy/s1600/IMG_1466.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeCfihFcYoaV2Irc5ZR4CHJ-vl51UIKW8G8UCwQjjcvpLPTHNNXCr7efHmz5nsOF-dSHqdeykIu66xt9HFo424cdEN0EL0iT__9vb-WLg0pKa6zpSOt-cAeAG6LIp-20qTOOBcu7NG8tQy/s320/IMG_1466.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flight Photo of the Hud Whimbrel</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghHDDjS_62zN3hhxGkUhgTixi_ZDvJE8xEqsL_DYh-5cY_2xEPpqjJG8P5m7eGJy6tCAwvK3Y7Q0cBHpQLdZkbn4hYn6tlFEemP16j0N8LBeCd-VejDle_FGaOWAtQCF-5xzxiYYgdU4oW/s1600/IMG_3462.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghHDDjS_62zN3hhxGkUhgTixi_ZDvJE8xEqsL_DYh-5cY_2xEPpqjJG8P5m7eGJy6tCAwvK3Y7Q0cBHpQLdZkbn4hYn6tlFEemP16j0N8LBeCd-VejDle_FGaOWAtQCF-5xzxiYYgdU4oW/s320/IMG_3462.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Digiscoped version</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyBg8nLQqTeG0fa6de-RCuKhHR2eb2ZU00SNZ5jQBbEJr6E1wVVAg4ib0M4OG2SbnoHlRLC98-AEvCuRvDnffMmquDOR4Ayp3yBVDZV0Dr3HH1ZUdFQwQFFRzTtGDRO_fJxWCjWPONKZeB/s1600/IMG_1449.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyBg8nLQqTeG0fa6de-RCuKhHR2eb2ZU00SNZ5jQBbEJr6E1wVVAg4ib0M4OG2SbnoHlRLC98-AEvCuRvDnffMmquDOR4Ayp3yBVDZV0Dr3HH1ZUdFQwQFFRzTtGDRO_fJxWCjWPONKZeB/s320/IMG_1449.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spoonbill with Hughtown in the background</td></tr>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: 115%;"><span style="background-color: white;"> We went
through Old Grimsby and found 2 Sandeling and a Greenshank. We arrived at New Grimsby and
headed towards the Great Pool, where we racked up most of the duck species for
the week; Mallard, Teal, Wigeon, Pintail, Garganey plus Little Grebe, Canada
Geese and two Pink-footed Geese which I'm told are quite a rarity on Scilly. As
we walked down the track towards the top end of great pool, a group of
birders were watching 5 Firecrests
amongst about 20 Goldcrests, and these birds aren't shy, getting very close to
these awesome birds. Then on the radio someone had called a Red-throated Pipit
on the helipad at the Abbey Gardens, Rob, my dad and myself dashed over there,
but when we arrived no one was there and with a good half hour of searching no
luck, then looking behind I spotted something I wouldn't have thought I'd seen on Scilly a RED SQUIRREL! Apparently
some had been introduced on the island, after watching the squirrel, I headed
back on myself to where I thought I'd
heard some crests calling at the Abbey Crossroads. When i arrived straight the
way, goldcrests were moving through, then a Firecrests flitted past, then a
different bird altogether in the willows behind the hedges, after a good few minutes
of getting terrible views and hearing it calling this mystery bird, it showed
itself to be my first ever Yellow-browed Warbler (YBW)! And getting some
pictures proved that, I was so happy with myself then just after putting it out
on the radio, it flies of typical! But then a similar call blasted out behind
me, ANOTHER Yellow-browed Warbler! Two YBW in a matter of a few minutes but
this time this particular stayed around for other birders to see this
individual. After watching this bird, we headed back towards New Grimsby and
round to the southern tip of Tresco, where we saw Kingfisher, 2 Greenshanks and
plenty of Great-blacked-backed Gulls. At the tip off the island (Carn Near)
more Sandelings, Oystercatchers and a few Ringed Plovers. After taking the boat
back to St Marys, we quickly dashed to Porthcressa Beach for the Mediterranean
Gull which we saw plus I found 2 Firecrest in the gardens behind, two Black Redstarts and the first White Wagtails of
the trip.</span><span style="background-color: #f5f8fa;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsHPu5aOKtDQZspieNEgXIL06QKtJuElsCKaIXlGzr0u6Sk9rdM50Jpvjd4N670NtyewZ6XIcuZWKEcNgy1-Eq8474T2B9Ugy6qeZNxmch-vwxvFkeT2m6PokbhrCUHWaJtcv2Gdxtkszj/s1600/IMG_1579.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsHPu5aOKtDQZspieNEgXIL06QKtJuElsCKaIXlGzr0u6Sk9rdM50Jpvjd4N670NtyewZ6XIcuZWKEcNgy1-Eq8474T2B9Ugy6qeZNxmch-vwxvFkeT2m6PokbhrCUHWaJtcv2Gdxtkszj/s320/IMG_1579.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The first YBW</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD92VmfPAurEqDBgv91RoVkWcHQQZay-3FbyqPW91A2RL2jgB1NtlL2sXp8SxqtqUr6blTP_4pi2UGdCKWn9P5wmxhZToq9tKTuB9JBUXoH2ViJvnRxV527bY-bZo6JaAgOrO17rJTx1hi/s1600/IMG_1589.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD92VmfPAurEqDBgv91RoVkWcHQQZay-3FbyqPW91A2RL2jgB1NtlL2sXp8SxqtqUr6blTP_4pi2UGdCKWn9P5wmxhZToq9tKTuB9JBUXoH2ViJvnRxV527bY-bZo6JaAgOrO17rJTx1hi/s320/IMG_1589.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Better Photos of the second bird</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: 115%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<h2>
<span style="font-size: small;">Day 3</span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After going to the bird log at the <span style="line-height: 115%;">Scillonian </span>Club, the Red-flanked Bluetail had
been re-found, so we took the boat with round 60 other birders to St Agnes,
after going to the site where it had been previously, but no luck so the
birders split up all over the island when news broke it had been briefly
seen at the cricket grounds towards the
northern end of Agnes, within a 10 minute wait this bird popped within only a
few metres in front of us! Giving us amazing views of this gorgeous bird and
getting closer each time! Then realising this bird was my 270<sup>th</sup>
bird! That was something to celebrate for so after the bird disappeared for a
good 10 mins we went to the local post office and had one of the best Cornish
Pasties I've ever had (Scilly Pasty) we headed to the southern tip of the
island Horse Point, where a Minke Whale has been spotted as we walked down we
got Rock Pipit added to the list and a
fly over Swallow, when we arrived at Horse Point, no one was there but after
some searching we found a pod of 8 Common Dolphins quite far out. As not much
else had been seen and no sign of the Red Flank Bluetail all afternoon, we took
the early boat to Marys, where on the way back I saw my first ever Harbour
Porpoise! Two of these creatures swam quite close to the boat before diving
down. After landing a Marys, news broke that the Short-toed Lark had been seen
on the airfield again, so we made our way round to this bird, taking a longer
route around Pennines Head where the Blyths was still showing well, plus I
found 2 Wheatears as well. We finally got up to the airfield with no luck at
all with the lark sadly. We quickly popped into Lower Moors but no sign of the
Little Buntings at all. So the end to our 3rd day but still so many places that
we've not visited.</div>
<h1>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></h1>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRTZurRcoNL8TzaGnQIz1OuWzdapypTWGMq4P16hHNTzREgvEe_XCx3khhYJVUx1flykoah67LmhR9_W-2W5Etyuhrdkjf0m17UvUB_vrz4cL4C73OIFfyV4ZEBZ-8NUk7sOGHzUx0CEYW/s1600/IMG_1698.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRTZurRcoNL8TzaGnQIz1OuWzdapypTWGMq4P16hHNTzREgvEe_XCx3khhYJVUx1flykoah67LmhR9_W-2W5Etyuhrdkjf0m17UvUB_vrz4cL4C73OIFfyV4ZEBZ-8NUk7sOGHzUx0CEYW/s320/IMG_1698.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Harbour Porpoise </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h1>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></h1>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS9hf1A0XsUTf-QPJZhe1cJSup_UQ7xtoQeGBs52d1MYB9EV_qMiVpAhaYhV56puQfSvmGk18LpFo5hBAy2u2QHM6HnycFiGCfYyp-CzOLwj7Y9QJYSIGuGTHXB__Gj1aFBl4fvPU_tU_z/s1600/IMG_3528.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS9hf1A0XsUTf-QPJZhe1cJSup_UQ7xtoQeGBs52d1MYB9EV_qMiVpAhaYhV56puQfSvmGk18LpFo5hBAy2u2QHM6HnycFiGCfYyp-CzOLwj7Y9QJYSIGuGTHXB__Gj1aFBl4fvPU_tU_z/s320/IMG_3528.JPG" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red-Flanked Bluetail (Digiscoped)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC0cgRDAr5bxj-Sz6NC6qV5tF6me4pxH3Ku0syABWg5Df5uWd1vmkMKhciI910N6YX8pN8PARMchaOXEcRrHlEUiO4DyXvxwgmPFDSCcaj1Nit27ahafl2KscXBGKaKmAUEHjDL3CrhmbZ/s1600/IMG_3541.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC0cgRDAr5bxj-Sz6NC6qV5tF6me4pxH3Ku0syABWg5Df5uWd1vmkMKhciI910N6YX8pN8PARMchaOXEcRrHlEUiO4DyXvxwgmPFDSCcaj1Nit27ahafl2KscXBGKaKmAUEHjDL3CrhmbZ/s320/IMG_3541.JPG" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red-Flanked Bluetail (Digiscoped)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h1>
<span style="font-size: small;">Day 4 </span></h1>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Today we decided to
stay on Mary's as in the afternoon we were going on one of Joe Pender's Dolphin
Dash Pelagics. So we got up early and tried again for the Shot-toed Lark, but
again no sign of birds on the airfield, but we did spot two Harbour Porpoise at
Porth Minnick bay. So we decided to go and check Lower Moors but again no sign
of the Little Bunting, but in the field which it had been seen in I found a
Lesser Redpoll with a flock (charm) of Goldfinches. Also the first Snipe of the
week from one of the pools at Lower Moors, after a quite quiet morning we
headed back round Penninis, with no sign of the Blyth's Pipit at that point, I
saw something bomb through the air behind us, to find a Peregrine Falcon fly
past, which brought up all the pipits and other passerines. After having lunch
the whole of the family got on the Dolphin Dash, being promised a 'few' Common
Dolphin, we started the boat trip out to Annet to see the breeding Common
Seals, also another Peregrine on watch plus a Kestrel. We made our way out to
the Western Rocks, when Joe's dog Bella, started yapping and whining turns out
that she can sense dolphins from about a mile away! And she was right around 10
Common Dolphins started to bow ride the boat, and myself and my sister hanging
almost over the end of the bow getting extremely close to these Dolphins, but
after 10 mins they disappeared. So we carried on around the Western rocks to
find 3 Purple Sandpipers, 20+ Sandeling and the odd Oystercatcher. Then went to
the most South Westerly point in Britain; Bishop Rock, an abandoned lighthouse
after passing the light house, we saw a massive feeding flock Gannets diving
ahead which is a good sign as fish are nearby, within 5 minutes we had a pod of
20 Harbour Porpoise! But as watched these creatures we missed a Sooty
Shearwater that was with the Gannets, but suddenly Bella 'went' off again but
the bark was louder, then we saw why a pod of 100 Common Dolphins was heading
towards the boat! For the next hour we watched these dolphins take turn bow
riding a jumping out of the water, even one dolphin did a tail whip! This is
one of my favourite spectacles of nature I've ever seen and is a memory I'll
treasure for the rest of my life. At one stage I wondered why my camera wasn't
focusing, the reason was that I had Common Dolphin blow spray on the lens, so I
quickly whipped this fish spray off my lens and got back to taking shots of
these Dolphins, after they swam off we went back to Marys but the drama wasn't
over, someone shouted 'Arctic Skua' and this adult Arctic Skua, started to dive
bomb this Kittiwake and we watched these birds battle it out for a few minutes.
Wow what a great end to an amazing day!</div>
<h1>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></h1>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZut-Ij_EajxU66IH6YAsbX5sC-223rMClULlcCjynlkCZo5m8GepMKNEuNfjHydHldJuCjAeeMo_OZqFLV5jk5oHqc71xrU3Nqi0OWGERnTcaBQKesiZc0gZ0GJev2LXXanq6sRdfrvnR/s1600/IMG_1832.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZut-Ij_EajxU66IH6YAsbX5sC-223rMClULlcCjynlkCZo5m8GepMKNEuNfjHydHldJuCjAeeMo_OZqFLV5jk5oHqc71xrU3Nqi0OWGERnTcaBQKesiZc0gZ0GJev2LXXanq6sRdfrvnR/s320/IMG_1832.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the Purple Sandpipers</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizxSxzdgHuqlBFkC9OMHJJBt63oJV8_FEox1RqTMCCTONksWmNudO7rZhZdDDa4rxkVOhMfjSpRt_egfkbqODw_VHnu612F1LHhyphenhyphenv31C2gMEv9od5huzUqnWc_FzQPC1xkrYA5lYVN_WSf/s1600/IMG_1918.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizxSxzdgHuqlBFkC9OMHJJBt63oJV8_FEox1RqTMCCTONksWmNudO7rZhZdDDa4rxkVOhMfjSpRt_egfkbqODw_VHnu612F1LHhyphenhyphenv31C2gMEv9od5huzUqnWc_FzQPC1xkrYA5lYVN_WSf/s320/IMG_1918.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2 Sanderling and Oystercatcher</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6kfRvnYeZSm8J3qn6CCY1F6QqClOfr9e5__Q26JYYhjVl0OQoC3TwbfjIFhsLnNbRkOxzv-ufsOph4WZzywfWL2tkVKkYpLwTuujUsy78MwWPTUVN4g5av1SAn_vOh7O_ZELW3KBQkirv/s1600/IMG_1965.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6kfRvnYeZSm8J3qn6CCY1F6QqClOfr9e5__Q26JYYhjVl0OQoC3TwbfjIFhsLnNbRkOxzv-ufsOph4WZzywfWL2tkVKkYpLwTuujUsy78MwWPTUVN4g5av1SAn_vOh7O_ZELW3KBQkirv/s320/IMG_1965.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bishop Rock</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZBDvcvXH0oouGoV22edFz1Rsu9BFD2FqY_pcSNcYFm2HElhZ2IDYYVP3-hx97c7P-HALocerP6sx6UyToD7TTFj_lKk-HqnhSsSvd7cqtGfExHErtfGPwl_DEaG3DER7lP9d9PXKAmorX/s1600/IMG_1999.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZBDvcvXH0oouGoV22edFz1Rsu9BFD2FqY_pcSNcYFm2HElhZ2IDYYVP3-hx97c7P-HALocerP6sx6UyToD7TTFj_lKk-HqnhSsSvd7cqtGfExHErtfGPwl_DEaG3DER7lP9d9PXKAmorX/s320/IMG_1999.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the dolphins</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBgfC_BKYMwBTpHC86uZqjfPq4OD3jWOm2FSUEJAiJeUjD8_SEhTNv5jQS4bREHwzTs8Wt4-NgGDMud8bdmMelaFj0QQbAvUJwGp61tcientYrrJGeMD1llDxupWKDVDI92BPJTgA29Nlo/s1600/IMG_2065.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBgfC_BKYMwBTpHC86uZqjfPq4OD3jWOm2FSUEJAiJeUjD8_SEhTNv5jQS4bREHwzTs8Wt4-NgGDMud8bdmMelaFj0QQbAvUJwGp61tcientYrrJGeMD1llDxupWKDVDI92BPJTgA29Nlo/s320/IMG_2065.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My favourite picture<br /><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDSVqKK9Br3M7Lz9iw1qoq1NzcOjkAXckSxhechxRFWRf1J8bFowwATo8jra6uka4fIev4b7xI5EIzroJDndruUJGI_tuVXtqkgFqbAt8_qPSVWTzpKwxOmlxu5DV1LepGtHQgiDaGFfAb/s1600/IMG_3628.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDSVqKK9Br3M7Lz9iw1qoq1NzcOjkAXckSxhechxRFWRf1J8bFowwATo8jra6uka4fIev4b7xI5EIzroJDndruUJGI_tuVXtqkgFqbAt8_qPSVWTzpKwxOmlxu5DV1LepGtHQgiDaGFfAb/s320/IMG_3628.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My sister and myself looking over the bow (Lucy McRobert)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcUTtshu4lh83xwB-E7DY0jMvTgqH6VHYrRpF_Xg1tUEm5HjrGw8P_GdqqXrB0txzaGtaYHTc08J53Tp8yfZyoi_OM10p6yAgc4mhH-ups03veHQw-KfTW-cMrfIKMvT3hRQptcEhSLvBN/s1600/IMG_3637.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcUTtshu4lh83xwB-E7DY0jMvTgqH6VHYrRpF_Xg1tUEm5HjrGw8P_GdqqXrB0txzaGtaYHTc08J53Tp8yfZyoi_OM10p6yAgc4mhH-ups03veHQw-KfTW-cMrfIKMvT3hRQptcEhSLvBN/s320/IMG_3637.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bow riding Dolphins (Lucy McRobert)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd43jDXxqN9C8VugP4aicFnOCqGf07XmdFZWerRTlRofjAq-pJHNSBvNnLPjZurUQkKu51S0jIbprkqrA6Pk_enIUGSlTdRi81WgvbCq1UdnN6iTiuj3lwDsUMxMUjSzPii8eSzOPY6aEW/s1600/IMG_2110.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd43jDXxqN9C8VugP4aicFnOCqGf07XmdFZWerRTlRofjAq-pJHNSBvNnLPjZurUQkKu51S0jIbprkqrA6Pk_enIUGSlTdRi81WgvbCq1UdnN6iTiuj3lwDsUMxMUjSzPii8eSzOPY6aEW/s320/IMG_2110.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Arctic Skua</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h1>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></h1>
<h1>
<span style="font-size: small;">Day 5</span></h1>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The weather had turned to the worst with choppy seas and
strong winds, we decided to visit St Martin's an island we hadn't yet
discovered but the Olive-backed Pipit (OBP) was still showing well in a bulb
field, we were really surprised to find that only 6 birders altogether were
going to St Martins, so pretty much the whole island to ourselves, we headed
straight to the OBP, it did take an hour to find this small Pipit, but when
another birder found it, it showed very well, but after looking at my photos
showed that this bird had ticks on either side of its head after watching this
bird for a good half an hour, we headed to a cafe that we had been told does
delicious pasties called St Martins Bakery, we had a pasty and some lovely
homemade Lemonade, after being re-fuelled we headed along the road towards
Middle and Little town, along the way my dad found a Snipe probing in a
vegetable patch and off one of the offshore rocks a group of 7 Greenshanks.
When we got into Middle Town, there was a freshly cut thin grass field, with a
good number of birds within, after a closer inspection most of th birds were
Meadow Pipits, with the odd House Sparrow and robin, but just as we were going
to move on I found an odd LBJ (Little Brown Job), which at first I narrowed
down to a bunting, whatever bunting it was it was good find, as any buntings
are scarce on the Scillies, but unlike a Reed Bunting this bird had a
browny/yellow 'moustache', which narrowed it down to only two species I could
think off Ortolan Bunting or the much rarer Cretzschmar's Bunting, it did take
a while, but after a few phone calls, it was a Ortolan Bunting! A new species
for my plus being a lifer, also a bird I didn't consider on seeing on this
holiday, by far one of the highlights of the holiday, luckily after the other
birders saw it flew off. Just in time to get the boat back to Mary's.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0LCSTgCqJC5FdPrceSNksHfS51L-IkvN3VtuczmTk97DgJusgAa8V-wkHcIeEsYQ2wQjc6bv2nuWQJjvfdSUxQRAjPtgLF3UEEgDu7oWJC7Yi0hfe7bmYSRAX7aUZGXeJ4n1NvadBA5Ch/s1600/IMG_2192.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0LCSTgCqJC5FdPrceSNksHfS51L-IkvN3VtuczmTk97DgJusgAa8V-wkHcIeEsYQ2wQjc6bv2nuWQJjvfdSUxQRAjPtgLF3UEEgDu7oWJC7Yi0hfe7bmYSRAX7aUZGXeJ4n1NvadBA5Ch/s320/IMG_2192.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ortolan Bunting</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG_flG87NKAclmZvww0RyZRfdDAqw9WH9U_zMBdrtCPbS2zOBH7VmI-pc5b-vFgnPJWXmOTl9Vkg0ycIJJ_ZPD05OoOS0l6zVOqHWQpUYyEw0vxZYeh0EVUqyDaTt2edLJ9eibKqVw66UP/s1600/IMG_3621.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG_flG87NKAclmZvww0RyZRfdDAqw9WH9U_zMBdrtCPbS2zOBH7VmI-pc5b-vFgnPJWXmOTl9Vkg0ycIJJ_ZPD05OoOS0l6zVOqHWQpUYyEw0vxZYeh0EVUqyDaTt2edLJ9eibKqVw66UP/s320/IMG_3621.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Olive-backed Pipit (Digiscoped)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZmBVg5mzZhvcP50F-zt1r7b3Y0UhPatw4qm29Rn_7vHOcfqLfRmGeJWGasdLt1HYRafahzyzmeo0u1ick9oS-kZ6hxSpZ7PfwQDG9Pi-jMbTg7IX3xg_Tfu-AycHzDTsRWGVyBXoD8Wo5/s1600/IMG_3622.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZmBVg5mzZhvcP50F-zt1r7b3Y0UhPatw4qm29Rn_7vHOcfqLfRmGeJWGasdLt1HYRafahzyzmeo0u1ick9oS-kZ6hxSpZ7PfwQDG9Pi-jMbTg7IX3xg_Tfu-AycHzDTsRWGVyBXoD8Wo5/s320/IMG_3622.JPG" width="319" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ortolan Bunting (Digiscoped)<br /><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnk9FjSH8wT2rKNbZa7Z3WEawT2a9zIb_7G_xj-SqxjCjY1PdAce6Vb6vjhbRsXSYcSUHOsMwGciExIgz3WQuSVsBFI3zD-1jZ4PzxykDIlYIoQUz8UP-MnADDHItFZKEk4tZbO0m9DJfu/s1600/IMG_2225.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnk9FjSH8wT2rKNbZa7Z3WEawT2a9zIb_7G_xj-SqxjCjY1PdAce6Vb6vjhbRsXSYcSUHOsMwGciExIgz3WQuSVsBFI3zD-1jZ4PzxykDIlYIoQUz8UP-MnADDHItFZKEk4tZbO0m9DJfu/s320/IMG_2225.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Olive-backed Pipit</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwK8nnW-OYxfv3CWvtEeQn0LqeAQyjgDkRUuKx4g-tYxD8_S3xVaGzE3iV2ZTTuXHycYbU2gVfVPRzuxZ3mbyGYr6i9H25YGmG0JXQjbVyxLxKkGxraXgkWWpRNUUyyY6eq35OeNCCVOBA/s1600/IMG_2240.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwK8nnW-OYxfv3CWvtEeQn0LqeAQyjgDkRUuKx4g-tYxD8_S3xVaGzE3iV2ZTTuXHycYbU2gVfVPRzuxZ3mbyGYr6i9H25YGmG0JXQjbVyxLxKkGxraXgkWWpRNUUyyY6eq35OeNCCVOBA/s320/IMG_2240.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Olive-backed Pipit</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<h1>
<span style="font-size: small;">Day 6</span></h1>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At the bird log the night before someone had seen a Spotted
Sandpiper on the Great Pool on Tresco, so my dad and I decided we'd give it a
shot to try and see this bird, there was so many people going to see the bird,
that we had to wait whilst another had to come and take a few more birders to
Tresco, but sadly this bird hadn't been seen all morning, and we didn't manage to
see it as apparently it had flown off, but the fields behind the Swarovski
hide, a lot of pipits were flitting around in the fields, within was my first
Yellow Wagtail of the trip, plus I found a Whinchat sat on one of the fences,
again just as we were about to the leave I saw a pipit that stood out with
having a white belly, thin bill with some yellow on the end, but the same size
as the Meadow pipits, but as soon as I saw it a Juv Osprey fly over flushing
all the birds off, after looking in the Collins bird guide, the only thing I
thought it could be was a Red-throated Pipit, but no one else saw it so I'll
wait for another one. Apart from that Tresco was very quiet, so we headed back
to Mary's but getting an adult Med Gull fly past was unexpected, then on the
radio news broke that the Short-toed Lark and now a Richards Pipit were on the
airfield, so my dad rang my mum who had hired a golf buggy, so she picked us up
and dropped us off at Old Town, where we ran as quick as we could with all of
our equipment, this was going to hopefully be third time lucky with this Lark,
when we got up there straight the way we managed to see the Short-toed Lark at
last! Plus the Richards Pipit flew in close giving us amazing views, still out
of breath from a boat someone reported 2 MINKE WHALES of the shore from the
airfield so everyone turned their scopes to the sea, and after 10 mins, I was
watching some Harbour Porpoise breach in my scope, when what looked like a
monster breached from within the Porpoises, my first ever Whale species MINKE
WHALE!!!I shouted it breached another 3 times for the other birders to see. So
going to see the Short-toed Lark, also to get a double prize with Richards
Pipit and MINKE WHALE.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBukpVLchb39jjFOhED4COdPsjKmqzY2-C2A7s52zMx-lV5cOmrj0NfrRLcPLQxWoe4xFFkSPtFdi9TwH3V-cZcjnJSLtwQeJlR7TuvvbZA41tNs-rim0TqsrVTVnMtoY-LnaQubINOJal/s1600/IMG_3619.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBukpVLchb39jjFOhED4COdPsjKmqzY2-C2A7s52zMx-lV5cOmrj0NfrRLcPLQxWoe4xFFkSPtFdi9TwH3V-cZcjnJSLtwQeJlR7TuvvbZA41tNs-rim0TqsrVTVnMtoY-LnaQubINOJal/s320/IMG_3619.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Richards Pipit</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSMAhrNR7jixdMc_9KJP9FsKiXmoe4pJGmb4QKZ07PX5ok0I8qC4ej_URewFe3p5aIJhaG_uYpCYYorNUoJBEodNHYWVRdbkuDgxfSrW0wndugrvr4S62uXm0a5XF3EEBX48EwR7g2ZZPU/s1600/IMG_3620.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSMAhrNR7jixdMc_9KJP9FsKiXmoe4pJGmb4QKZ07PX5ok0I8qC4ej_URewFe3p5aIJhaG_uYpCYYorNUoJBEodNHYWVRdbkuDgxfSrW0wndugrvr4S62uXm0a5XF3EEBX48EwR7g2ZZPU/s320/IMG_3620.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Short-toed Lark</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<h1>
<span style="font-size: small;">Day 7 </span></h1>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was almost the final day on the Scillies, so my dad and I
decided to explore areas that we'd not yet been to so we walked round Pennines,
round past the airport to Porth Hellick were we saw 2 Canada geese, then moving
onto Higher Moors, which was very quiet, then to Holy Vale with no sign of the female
Great Spotted woodpecker or anything else, we headed back to Juliet's Garden to
meet up with the rest of the family, after having a filling sandwich and
sorbet, news broke of a Pied Flycatcher at Careg Dhu, this maybe a 'common'
species but sadly i missed these birds whilst in Cornwall in July, so my dad
and I headed off for it, and it was showing well in a big poplar tree, with 2
Firecrest flitting around in the Bamboo plants. That was it until we were back
in Hugh Town, when a report of a 'odd' YBW had been seen behind the lifeboat
station (Cairn Thomas), turned out just to be a dull YBW. A very quiet day, but
hopefully we'll see something tomorrow.</div>
<h1>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></h1>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg33izfLknTSM8lmpOD4guwNvPWwVwQJfM6_mYLFQ6TlUwLcRUzx6zOglwtd6NnsReWD-Qxh88VouWzwABVTJZnZ755mLnAEBrwn809tGNzxEkkBJjrTb4boCCAiWtjcsLryOJb-Vly2VDF/s1600/IMG_2555.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg33izfLknTSM8lmpOD4guwNvPWwVwQJfM6_mYLFQ6TlUwLcRUzx6zOglwtd6NnsReWD-Qxh88VouWzwABVTJZnZ755mLnAEBrwn809tGNzxEkkBJjrTb4boCCAiWtjcsLryOJb-Vly2VDF/s320/IMG_2555.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Common Snipe</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS1uokh7HyCPP_-t6ju7nhk9ZH0DAwcKvDbicDrTT0KeXZqDWVgppLtUKJOd3e34SCG8uNTpZCmxJBv8LIY0X_o0gIfP4r0NNE3iqzt7BT1qYoE9OnniwX4RC2emhi8yJRuwI_pL_9d35N/s1600/IMG_2325.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS1uokh7HyCPP_-t6ju7nhk9ZH0DAwcKvDbicDrTT0KeXZqDWVgppLtUKJOd3e34SCG8uNTpZCmxJBv8LIY0X_o0gIfP4r0NNE3iqzt7BT1qYoE9OnniwX4RC2emhi8yJRuwI_pL_9d35N/s320/IMG_2325.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pied Flycatcher Careg Dhu Gardens</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h1>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></h1>
<h1>
<span style="font-size: small;">Final Day</span></h1>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our boat was 2 o'clock so we packed our bags up and did a
quick birding stop at Porthcressa Beach where we got the Juv Med Gull, 2 Black
Redstarts and I found 2 more Firecrests. That was it back on the Scillonian
III, hopefully for some better seawatching. The sea was very choppy I had to
find a cranny that I could squeeze into, but i had a good view over the sea and
found 2 Arctic Skuas, plenty of Auks (to distant to tell), Gannets and
kittiwake plus the odd dolphin. Again very quiet but getting to the mainland
didn't mean this trips birding was over...</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQzw4lqd8zieB99KxFS2juj7TFvoVYrMZRCPIA9L_P3j5TGFBplk8DV7fN1YxvUrFndUXhGnJZhuc19CbVmRRMarnI9hyphenhyphenLdrKC9wYVpkC_jwsM__R099MKQ5N_JydeM3k2TuNgiyh8kEnc/s1600/IMG_2568.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQzw4lqd8zieB99KxFS2juj7TFvoVYrMZRCPIA9L_P3j5TGFBplk8DV7fN1YxvUrFndUXhGnJZhuc19CbVmRRMarnI9hyphenhyphenLdrKC9wYVpkC_jwsM__R099MKQ5N_JydeM3k2TuNgiyh8kEnc/s320/IMG_2568.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Arctic Skua and Kittiwake</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<h1>
<span style="font-size: small;">'Bonus' Twitch</span></h1>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For a few days at Lands End, in the complex there a
Rose-coloured Starling had been showing very well, even feeding out of the
hand! So quickly we dashed down from Penzance to Lands End, and with 30 seconds
of walking in this bird flew down to our feet, but sadly after that I couldn't
find it. Has to be the easiest twitch I've ever been on!!</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCRTv9IbmbGBxAEUjNSSp83ZJIVBpE-LbSQdJpfqnSSZ81kV5ehFUR8HQqqaKWYZcvWfLmcbxx2V2PDxFi3Ou0ufhejx6te4fnrGT-ThFxHdVVQw3tskV2-zl00D1i-DVTeLZN6NJYD3qZ/s1600/IMG_2614.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCRTv9IbmbGBxAEUjNSSp83ZJIVBpE-LbSQdJpfqnSSZ81kV5ehFUR8HQqqaKWYZcvWfLmcbxx2V2PDxFi3Ou0ufhejx6te4fnrGT-ThFxHdVVQw3tskV2-zl00D1i-DVTeLZN6NJYD3qZ/s320/IMG_2614.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rose-coloured Starling</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
So having 7 days on the Scillies and the 'bonus' Twitch, my
life list stands at 276 with highlights from the week being; 100 Common
Dolphin, MINKE WHALE, Red-flanked Bluetail, Ortolan Bunting and many others. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjwlVL3CPGj3_KV_IJSc5n70QqQz83NTdnTQMTCA63z5XLUPxPBlNV6UFhjGEiIsBUY0bgP3XXfSdebGiu0yyZCNYdbxt9eSiEaA3oD-Vu3BZnaHcccELHLEVArn4_21FtLw4lX-0re3kb/s1600/IMG_1616.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjwlVL3CPGj3_KV_IJSc5n70QqQz83NTdnTQMTCA63z5XLUPxPBlNV6UFhjGEiIsBUY0bgP3XXfSdebGiu0yyZCNYdbxt9eSiEaA3oD-Vu3BZnaHcccELHLEVArn4_21FtLw4lX-0re3kb/s320/IMG_1616.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Firecrest Porthcressa (ringed)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNFtX98tUKvZeiVXVszAhJhcmEGzP6xt_AmW_qyApFeHjcDswDItUX2_lMVAnO_34cCT8Or2fxsaG2lUIkvbY5SdHJQZGlS6e7ksn283M3XVxMsJpHbkg1fw3ewMC9mJF7gSqbn_nynf2z/s1600/IMG_2283.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNFtX98tUKvZeiVXVszAhJhcmEGzP6xt_AmW_qyApFeHjcDswDItUX2_lMVAnO_34cCT8Or2fxsaG2lUIkvbY5SdHJQZGlS6e7ksn283M3XVxMsJpHbkg1fw3ewMC9mJF7gSqbn_nynf2z/s320/IMG_2283.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adult Winter Med Gull Tresco</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Toby Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10460894272214119675noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6708943715748155563.post-78199044374412577582015-11-07T10:19:00.001+00:002015-11-07T10:19:45.181+00:00Scilly TripI'm in the process of writing up my first trip to the Scilly Isles from last OctoberToby Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10460894272214119675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6708943715748155563.post-49560824788685051402015-08-19T11:28:00.001+01:002015-08-19T11:28:03.945+01:00Drama at Manton Bay with the Ospreys <div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: none; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 12px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
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I recently went spent two days helping Tim Mackrill, Paul Stammers and the rest of the Osprey team, with Osprey shifts and talking to the public; here is my blog post that i'd posted on the Rutland Osprey site. </div>
<h4 style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: none; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 12px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Over the past couple of day’s we’ve been joined by 15 year-old Toby Carter. He’s written a great blog about his two days with the project…</h4>
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Day 1</h3>
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On Thursday I headed down to Shallow Water hide in the morning to see what wading birds I could find, I managed to see; Greenshank, 2 Common Sandpipers, 2 Ruff and 3 Black-tailed Godwits in summer plumage. After enjoying those birds I headed over to Waderscrape hide to help the volunteers with the Osprey shift. I’d recently visited and helped out with the Osprey team as part of my work experience, and saw the chicks when they were only 5 weeks old. I can’t believe the difference now they are 12 weeks old!</div>
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No sooner had I arrived in the hide than the drama started. S3 was practicing diving into the water, when suddenly she rushed towards the nest and started to mantle; the first time I’d ever seen this kind of behaviour. I looked up and two intruding Ospreys were circling above, one then dive-bombed S3 on the nest; it was spectacular to watch! Mya then came to the rescue and pushed the birds away from the vicinity of the nest and out of view.</div>
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On the walk back to the centre, Blackcap, Garden Warbler and Whitethroat were singing in the hedgerows and surrounding trees. At the centre I took control of the live feed and we caught some amazing footage of the chicks; the first piece of footage is 33 bringing in a Perch, and S1 and S3 having a fight over this fish. The fight went on for a minute and a half and was amazing to watch. The second piece of footage was 33 again bringing a small fish, and S3 grabbing the fish of him, then S2 grabbed hold of 33’s talon in his beak and tried to pull him almost off the nest! So S3 was literally pulling dad’s leg! He obviously thought he still had the fish!</div>
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Fish Fight </div>
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Pulling Dad's Leg </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pulling Dad's leg </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fish Fight</td></tr>
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Day 2 </h3>
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I got up really early, and made my way to Shallow Water hide around 7:30am. When I arrived no one else was in the hide, and straight the way there was plenty of Little Egrets, herons and of course Ospreys. The Greenshank was still around as well as Green Sandpipers, Common Sandpipers a Black-tailed Godwit and I got a fleeting glimpse of a Kingfisher; which was a bonus. Then suddenly Mya started calling and I got my scope on the bird and I was surprised to see that a Hobby was dive bombing Mya! This went on for a good five minutes, but it wasn’t until the local Common Terns came along, that the Hobby moved off! This is a memory that I’ll treasure for a while.</div>
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On the way to Waderscrape hide, there were more Whitethroats and a pair of Bullfinches in the hedgerows and trees. When I got into the hide, S2 was sitting on the nest, and 33 and the remaining two chicks were in the surrounding area. The Sedge Warblers and the Reed Buntings in front of the hide were making a fuss at something in the undergrowth: we think it was a Grass Snake as Water voles don’t worry the local birds. Apart from that it was very quiet. At the centre more and more people started to arrive in the afternoon. The public loved watching a Whitethroat coming to the bird feeders, and, as I'm writing this, a Spotted Flycatcher has made a brief appearance. With some patience I managed to show the people this lovely bird.</div>
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I've really enjoyed my 2 days here with the Osprey team, and I doubt this will be my last visit before the Birdfair!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All 3 Juveniles on the 'T' perch </td></tr>
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Toby Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10460894272214119675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6708943715748155563.post-47879019575995846202015-07-26T17:13:00.000+01:002015-07-26T17:13:46.999+01:00Moth-ing<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elephant Hawkmoth</td></tr>
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Earlier this year my dad bought a Moth trap, for myself and him to have our first year of Moth trapping, we'd already had a good list of moths without the trap including Poplar-Hawkmoth, Pale Tussock and Angle Shades.<br />
We've had 5 trapping sessions this year, and we've had a good host of cool moths, my favourite include Elephant Hawkmoth, Buff and White Ermine, Light Emerald and Brimstone Moth.<br />
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Thank you to everyone on Twitter who have helped me identify some of the harder moths, and I'm sure there are more to come, as long as the weather picks up<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Buff (left) and White (right) Emrine</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brimstone Moth</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Light Emerald<br /><br /></td></tr>
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Toby Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10460894272214119675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6708943715748155563.post-53918880951141736862015-07-26T15:21:00.003+01:002015-07-26T15:21:58.857+01:00BTO Work Experience 26-29th MayFrom the 26-29 of May, I went to Thetford, Norfolk to have a work experience at the BTO voluntary, as my work experience with school is at Rutland Water later on this month. It was amazing to go behind the scenes of the BTO HQ, and meet some very nice people.<br />
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My dad and I arrived late Bank holiday Monday, and were ready for the days of ourselves. Usually it's e birding and my Dad working but for a change it was the other way around.<br />
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<u>Tuesday</u></h3>
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I arrived at the BTO at 9:30am and got introduced to the building, then it was straight down to the Gardedn Birdwatch Team (GBW), to see what they had in store for me, when I arrived Clare Simms had set me to do an article on the Jackdaw, each month Clare writes an article that goes into the BBC Wildlife Magazine online called 'Discover Wildlife', and the wildlife that she writes about are general wildlife that you will get in your gardens. You can read the article by clicking on this link <a href="http://www.discoverwildlife.com/blog/7-jackdaw-facts-you-need-know" target="_blank">Discover Wildlife</a> , after writing the article, Clare Simm invited me if I wanted to go around the Nunnery Lakes with her, Sarah Harris and Neil Calabrade, it was nice to see some Egyptian Goslings swimming around one of the lakes, after going around the reserve, I was off the the communication department, to do some tweeting for the upcoming Springwatch, I was working with Ieuan Evans and it was quite interesting looking at all the Social Media side to the BTO and just catching up with Ieuan himself. </div>
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After a first brilliant day at the BTO my dad and I decided to go down Weeting Heath NWT, to see if we could spot a Stone Curlew, and as soon as we go into the hide, we found just a single bird feeding with the Rooks and the local Rabbits, sadly the bird was quite distant but still nice to see my 3rd ever Stone Curlew </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stone Curlew at Weeting Heath <span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">© Toby Carter</span></td></tr>
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<u>Wednesday </u></h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">On Wednesday, it was an early start, as I was to be helping Dave Leech, Lee Barber and </span>their<span style="font-family: inherit;"> pH D student Chris, at their reedbed site Cranwich, many of you reading this who follow Dave Leech and Lee Barber on twitter (</span><a href="https://twitter.com/rock_nester" style="font-family: inherit;" target="_blank">@rock_nester</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> and </span><a href="https://twitter.com/lee00barber" style="font-family: inherit;" target="_blank">@lee00barber</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">) will know that this is the site, where they ring a lot of the Reed Warblers and Cuckoo chicks. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So Lee picked me up outside our hotel at 7:30am and we drove straight down to Cranwich, the site is massive covered in lagoons and reedbeds along the outskirts of every lake, so they are doing a study to see if the length of reeds affects the breeding success of Reed Warblers, plus where the insects are during the breeding season, so to measure the insects, Dave and Lee had set up traps to catch the insects, in the reeds small potter traps just above the water, to catch any insects within the area, and sticky traps which were hung up in the trees to see the abundance of insects in the wooded areas, this will help </span>Chris<span style="font-family: inherit;">, Lee and Dave distinguish where the Reed Warblers are feeding, against the abundance of insects. So I got kitted up in my waders, and Lee put me right in the deep end, at first my job was to collect </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 23.0400009155273px;">exuviae (Damselfly and Dragonfly cases) off the reed stems to see when they are </span></span><span style="line-height: 23.0400009155273px;">appearing</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 23.0400009155273px;"> during the Reed Warbler breeding season. </span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the Reeds </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Potter Trap</td></tr>
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After checking some of the Potter traps, Chris showed me a nest I thought I'd never see, it was a WATER RAIL nest!!! This nest was lovely to see, not much bigger than a Moorhen nest, then after seeing that amazing nest, he showed me a Reed Warbler nest, there really beautiful, you see them on the T.V or books and think how amazing the nest is, but it's not until you get up close that you can really appreciate the beauty of these tiny birds and their amazing nests! After seeing both of those nests, Lee set out a trap to try and catch one of the adult birds (Lee has an license to do this!), and within 5 mins, he brought out an adult Water Rail, this was going to be the 3rd ever for Cranwich, and I was going to the ring it, this is a memory I will treasure forever!!!! It was such a lovely to bird to hold with its intricate plumage. Whilst I was measuring the wing of the bird, out the corner of my eye, I saw a small bird pop into a little clump of rushes, when I'd finished processing, I went to have a look, and Chris found a Reed Bunting nest, this was a new nest this year, plus a first for me to!!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Water Rail Nest <span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">©Toby Carter</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adult Water Rail <span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">©Lee Barber</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp8tLXRsEFJg63pTXzNB7qm1M7UsdCsRH8UN67oGuwNEVk8chQQBsEjHOTIorWaFcEXhM9tRY4Lc1U3k75DFj5g_Y4coDSDt4K2nPdryPHfiGufbsmzll61FRbGimBZkD-wMx4zapUy0mB/s1600/IMG_1287.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp8tLXRsEFJg63pTXzNB7qm1M7UsdCsRH8UN67oGuwNEVk8chQQBsEjHOTIorWaFcEXhM9tRY4Lc1U3k75DFj5g_Y4coDSDt4K2nPdryPHfiGufbsmzll61FRbGimBZkD-wMx4zapUy0mB/s320/IMG_1287.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Reed Bunting nest <span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">© Toby Carter</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-eyBVTR6U61WWYkZ9gP4NYlRet9yU-nkyx8lNu3nPHZvMeJXgofHw8VuyWIOsrBZOcE-l2YyBh6C1OXXiuQgAxqKpexZ5gm7pH42_VT3ZXovtxIsQnU8p_c-dUXEdTI9kgAl4YP11qxAS/s1600/IMG_1299.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-eyBVTR6U61WWYkZ9gP4NYlRet9yU-nkyx8lNu3nPHZvMeJXgofHw8VuyWIOsrBZOcE-l2YyBh6C1OXXiuQgAxqKpexZ5gm7pH42_VT3ZXovtxIsQnU8p_c-dUXEdTI9kgAl4YP11qxAS/s320/IMG_1299.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me with my Water Rail <span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">©Dave Leech</span><br />
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After finding the nest and ringing the beautiful Water Rail, it was back to checking the traps, and the water seemed to be getting deeper and deeper each time, we were checking them. At one lagoon, by the mud, a mass of black '<i>things</i>' were gathering in a massive area of the lagoon, I put my hand in the water, and to my surprise they were toadpoles apparently, I'd never seen so many in my life before, let alone that beat the amount of tadpoles I'd ever seen as well. After on the last lagoon, I managed to pin point a male Cuckoo sitting high in the tops of a Willow Tree, i'd heard these birds all day long, but didn't manage to get a glimpse of them till now. Also this was the first Cuckoo i'd seen in 3 years! Later on when we had finished checking the pots and traps, Dave took me to a Reed Warbler nest, where I got to ring my first pulli (chicks in the nest) Reed Warblers, there was 4 chicks altogether, what a brilliant way to end on an amazing day, almost chest high in water!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGox38VeexQSbRkkkAJSEs3hSt1wghAxsb8izAeOnuOCH1de9pu-rvB6Kh5zEcL5nrjJ2anGlJ0hXkdYaliYmpSphzYEd8TnWKoxurjYF2BURMEnIdqEefjeo61YK8_YbCHDfkZpU7wTRs/s1600/IMG_1276.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGox38VeexQSbRkkkAJSEs3hSt1wghAxsb8izAeOnuOCH1de9pu-rvB6Kh5zEcL5nrjJ2anGlJ0hXkdYaliYmpSphzYEd8TnWKoxurjYF2BURMEnIdqEefjeo61YK8_YbCHDfkZpU7wTRs/s320/IMG_1276.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Reed Warbler Nest <span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">©Toby Carter </span></td></tr>
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<u>Thursday</u> </h3>
After a lovely out in the field (aka Reeds:-) ), I was back in the office, and back with Lee Barber and the Demography team, my task, was to process a load of reports of Colour-ringed birds, most of the birds were Black-headed Gulls from Germany and Latvia, also the occasional sighting of a Lesser Black-backed over here in England. It was amazing to see behind the scenes, were the sightings of ringed birds out in the field, turn up and to see the variety of whereabouts and when the birds were seen. Earleir on in the year, I went to my local gravel pits, with my friend Sam (@birdboysam), and I spotted a colour-ringed Cormorant (CTH), this was very exciting as I've never spotted a ringed bird that I've been fully able to identify the code, I sent the information to the Demography which is where I am now and within a week got the information saying it had been ringed at Attenborough Nature Reserve only 30 miles or so away. It was amazing to see the process from recording your sighting to the Demography team, looking for the connection and giving you the information back. After lunch, I was helping Carl Barrimore, with the NRS (Nest Record Scheme), the NRS are always appreciated when people send photos of nests they've found, these all go into a database and my job was to, identify those without the name of the nest and put them into the right categories.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDdnfg3kX0N6BatpMbDdTMGOYzEIXxqiyffxJxtVqxR9xnq-xs1eHcAUC8u58_SOg1K46egKatUG-hXW_o-UqYJ6AWyhs3qF4RGy0b5dmE8EyPSgepz80W_HFhsKFbWnK3GMcUU_I2yt9F/s1600/IMG_2480.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDdnfg3kX0N6BatpMbDdTMGOYzEIXxqiyffxJxtVqxR9xnq-xs1eHcAUC8u58_SOg1K46egKatUG-hXW_o-UqYJ6AWyhs3qF4RGy0b5dmE8EyPSgepz80W_HFhsKFbWnK3GMcUU_I2yt9F/s320/IMG_2480.JPG" width="254" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CTH Cormorant (Sam Pitt Miller) </td></tr>
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Before I left Paul Staincliffe, came up to me and handed me a bunch of papers, on the front was BBC Springwatch Unsprung Audience, Paul had got myself and my dad into the Unsprung audience at Minsmere! My dad and I drove down to Minsmere, and even saw the production village, and whilst waiting for Unsprung, we watched the show on the main screen, and managed to catch a glimpse of the live Wren nest! 10 mins before the show we were silent as we waited behind the 'Springwatch Shed', in the undergrowth we could see a muntjac eating away at the foliage. Then being in the audience was amazing, hearing about the surfer and his beach cleaning. It was an amazing experience and thank you to Paul and the BBC for letting my dad and I watch Unsprung live.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Film Crew and Stornoway Band</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me in the audience (Ben Moyes)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></td></tr>
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<u>Friday </u></h3>
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My final day at the BTO and I was going to be working with John Marachant in the Surveys Team, I had to look through the County Bird reports and log onto a massive excel spreadsheet the Introduced and escaped birds, this is because the BTO are looking at which Category E species are spreading through the country and which could properly establish themselves here in the UK. So by doing this I had to go into the BTO's Archives, and there are rows and rows of bird reports, books and so much more! It was interesting to see that how certain species, that have escaped have, are now colonising parts of the Country. After entering loads of records into the database, it was time for me to say farewell and thanks a lot to everyone at the BTO for making me feel welcome, and thanks a lot to Paul who presented me with a signed copy of Mike Tom's book all about Owls, thanks a lot, this is a brilliant read. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyoQ-amZcptQPdqeDR7_ZIb5N7DHEosrso7_dB5U-KR30LQvaxuLd8uPqTG5HIdCawaowrjVscneOUiH7cwjsJg7YHX4r0fd29e0GhJ8Ngv5yX7vdZSgPZhipqJLIwEsX8mBNBzTgAhXRX/s1600/IMG_1304.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyoQ-amZcptQPdqeDR7_ZIb5N7DHEosrso7_dB5U-KR30LQvaxuLd8uPqTG5HIdCawaowrjVscneOUiH7cwjsJg7YHX4r0fd29e0GhJ8Ngv5yX7vdZSgPZhipqJLIwEsX8mBNBzTgAhXRX/s320/IMG_1304.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just part of the archives<br /><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUvKL2f_c9_apfNoj20oqiooZLasqaD4m6H-8p21pkFUss2WoLqpdSgyymf00BbG_w8Hj4uyIN6LmqBZ10uIEAipwpIev9UBGSVwNc_gXZvNgMdEAwkq1EuApA7YT3fWs5mk57iiLQrUjX/s1600/IMG_2481.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUvKL2f_c9_apfNoj20oqiooZLasqaD4m6H-8p21pkFUss2WoLqpdSgyymf00BbG_w8Hj4uyIN6LmqBZ10uIEAipwpIev9UBGSVwNc_gXZvNgMdEAwkq1EuApA7YT3fWs5mk57iiLQrUjX/s320/IMG_2481.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Owls by Mike Toms<br /><br /><br /></td></tr>
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Sorry for this Delay, with Blogger playing up, hope you enjoy this, please leave a comment.<br />
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Also don't miss the BTO, at the upcoming Birdfair 21-23 August in Marquee 3, stand 36-8</div>
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Toby Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10460894272214119675noreply@blogger.com1Thetford, Norfolk, UK52.406339627101616 0.75241327285766652.405734127101617 0.751152772857666 52.406945127101615 0.753673772857666tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6708943715748155563.post-58643096943413436382015-07-26T13:21:00.002+01:002015-07-26T13:21:48.230+01:00DelaySorry for this delay. but I've been having some technical issues with uploading posts for you guys to see, hopefully it is now fixed and a load of blogs should be coming out in the next few days. Including, Work experience at the BTO and Rutland Water, First year of Moth trapping and what my dad and I have caught so far and my recent week in Cornwall.<br />
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Sorry for this delay Toby Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10460894272214119675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6708943715748155563.post-18117925865026515112015-03-30T18:20:00.000+01:002015-03-30T18:20:33.467+01:00The House Martin's need you!!!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJqq0B6Pg_s3CikeHcIBbp9fRZvMC8uJMUAzVSLgU4RAwjq69Ua6e02RE5g-WogAK9s_HxTtnw3JdyJ4AGPwMYMF4InBd_3twJL2hgvLJ0gicl6IFJGKgCOd7QMv1MGkbP0_ppYOJKyudy/s1600/House+Martin+pics+DB+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSs0xQ_xUz7mdiqeQBUl6IQ0QfwAoFCsuHBWh0ZS5ROaqqGAZN-pogK499HNqeQ59ZO0WF3dsDqs8VALiC6BmsUmWu7GucLP14mQTNpFcn9nMLxxq61d1D0xdnfAQF91UFPfD-6jE5KHSw/s1600/House+Martin+pics+DB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </div>
I've already blogged about the upcoming BTO Survey on the House Martins, spring is on its way but there's still time to register on the <a href="http://blx1.bto.org/housemartins/home" target="_blank">BTO page</a>. These birds have declined by 18% in 10 years <br />
House Martin's are beautiful birds which migrate to south Sahara each year and come and breed in Britain and Europe. The reason that the BTO are starting this survey is that the House Martin numbers are declining, and we do not know the reason why, maybe it's illegal shooting on the migration routes, or is climate change having a impact, so many questions that need answering to why these birds are declining. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7KpCa_kRgdhtqRiixSiongCZ3J0UERWBOoHYcoKSbxAJFLsXF1g2VKVfnFARO5ISdzFCTIV9wbX5E-07EgQjky5bE-oydPVo0D5ZdHxi3Chm3Q-RVvZi1f35Y4M9IYOGL3PHzyysnjxQb/s1600/Abundance+change+of+HouMa.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7KpCa_kRgdhtqRiixSiongCZ3J0UERWBOoHYcoKSbxAJFLsXF1g2VKVfnFARO5ISdzFCTIV9wbX5E-07EgQjky5bE-oydPVo0D5ZdHxi3Chm3Q-RVvZi1f35Y4M9IYOGL3PHzyysnjxQb/s1600/Abundance+change+of+HouMa.png" height="400" width="291" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Relative Abunance Change from 1988-2011 <br />
(Copyright BTO Atlas 2011)<span style="font-size: small;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Breeding Abundance 2008-11<br />
(Copyright BTO Atlas 2011) </td></tr>
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From these two images, courtesy of the BTO, we can see that in the top image that House Martin numbers have decreased in England and parts of Wales, but in Scotland and Ireland the population of House Martins have increased, where the density of people is fewer even though they mainly build there mud nests under eaves of houses. The second image shows that on the Eastern side of Ireland and Northern Ireland they are doing extremely well, in the highlands of Scotland there isn't many birds but in Devon and Dorset the numbers are very high, so the abundance is scattered with no real pattern, so this is a reason why the BTO need answers to why these birds are declining.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">House Martin (Dawn Balmer)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSs0xQ_xUz7mdiqeQBUl6IQ0QfwAoFCsuHBWh0ZS5ROaqqGAZN-pogK499HNqeQ59ZO0WF3dsDqs8VALiC6BmsUmWu7GucLP14mQTNpFcn9nMLxxq61d1D0xdnfAQF91UFPfD-6jE5KHSw/s1600/House+Martin+pics+DB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSs0xQ_xUz7mdiqeQBUl6IQ0QfwAoFCsuHBWh0ZS5ROaqqGAZN-pogK499HNqeQ59ZO0WF3dsDqs8VALiC6BmsUmWu7GucLP14mQTNpFcn9nMLxxq61d1D0xdnfAQF91UFPfD-6jE5KHSw/s1600/House+Martin+pics+DB.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">House Martin in nest (Dawn Balmer) </td></tr>
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<h3>
<u>How you can help the House Martin</u></h3>
As in the blog about this survey there are many ways to help the House Martin. One way is to put up some specialised nest boxes, this is a great way of encouraging these birds to your house, also to help the BTO know more about them join the BTO and donate to the survey!!!!!<br />
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So go out there buy a box, and start the survey!!!!<br />
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Toby Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10460894272214119675noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6708943715748155563.post-36196251960559640732015-01-12T17:27:00.002+00:002015-01-12T17:27:25.718+00:00Scoters, Cranes and much much more<div class="MsoNormal">
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In the last week of October, I went
with my Poppa, Mum, Dad and sister for a 5 day holiday. My dad and I planned to
go birding every day and take this great opportunity to find some scarce and
rare species. Hopefully to boost my Dad’s and my Life list, it seems every time
I go to Norfolk, I get at least one lifer.</div>
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<h3>
Day 1 </h3>
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We woke up at 7:00am and set off around 9:45 after dropping
the Dog, Cats and 12 Guinea pigs, on the way I made a car list with all the
birds that I was to see over the next 3 hours, this included Lapwing, Buzzard,
Kestrel, Lesser black-backed Gull and a 6 very nice Jays. Before we got to our
holiday cottage in Southrepps (this is only a few miles south of Cromer), we
popped into Holt, and I looked out for one of Dave Leech’s colour ringed
blackbirds, but they were elusive for me. Then a few hours later we arrived at
our lovely holiday cottage, and straight the way I called ‘shotgun’ on the room
that had the window north facing, so that I could be able to see Pink-footed
Geese in there hundreds fly over the house, then looking around I found a flock
of 26 Red-legged Partridge grazing in the field, then to a surprise a
Short-eared Owl flew past the church to the right of the house, after
un-packing we looked around the village to find a very loud Jays plus feral
pigeon in the crooks and crannies of the church.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm_BQUd2-JGg0m5WDfxnliqIqauX9se0ETdZyvIG6vEGS0wnoCn0LSCYO1tmUpu49aN3V0IUK9bF5dgmAIrp4nLXGJNRTYdAwj0HIw5MBcFKzg76xj3eZtV71-QTN1ee4OT3QdAhvMRpIn/s1600/IMG_0254.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm_BQUd2-JGg0m5WDfxnliqIqauX9se0ETdZyvIG6vEGS0wnoCn0LSCYO1tmUpu49aN3V0IUK9bF5dgmAIrp4nLXGJNRTYdAwj0HIw5MBcFKzg76xj3eZtV71-QTN1ee4OT3QdAhvMRpIn/s1600/IMG_0254.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red-legged Partridge from my window</td></tr>
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<h3>
Day 2</h3>
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After not waking up to any sign of Pink-foots, my dad and I
decided to go to Holkham Pines, as a nice male Surf Scoter had been showing for
last couple of days, and as the cottage had no Wi-Fi we didn’t know what had
been sighted, so we drove down to Holkham, and went via the coastal road for
the lookout of Pink-feet in the local Sugar-beet fields, I’d heard about a Grey
Phalarope that had been reported at Salthouse, so we stopped off there with no
luck, to find when we carried along the road, it was in a duck pond with loads
of observers getting great views of this bird, but it was too late, so we hoped
it would stay for another day. When we arrived at Holkham, I got the telescope
and scanned the 500+ flock of Pink-footed geese for a possible Brent or a Bean
goose, but instead found a very nice Barnacle Goose, I don’t know if this goose
was feral but with such a big flock of ‘pinkies’ I classed it as a wild bird,
this was the first of many lifers to come.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirqWhOtrRlJjZ14NnK1OmDD9FrH7hNXXDkGqv4uZyPU-o_rH8EI2BBweJs-OLgG1x-PePTs_DwfeQbadb7_JvaVTFbUYOb8cMDY3gbMefGdRT6c2zZCiOHY_mIpIbH3_C3s11R8lulzTPB/s1600/IMAG0277.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirqWhOtrRlJjZ14NnK1OmDD9FrH7hNXXDkGqv4uZyPU-o_rH8EI2BBweJs-OLgG1x-PePTs_DwfeQbadb7_JvaVTFbUYOb8cMDY3gbMefGdRT6c2zZCiOHY_mIpIbH3_C3s11R8lulzTPB/s1600/IMAG0277.jpg" height="320" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barnacle Goose at Holkham (Digi-scoped)</td></tr>
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Within the car park there were many
birders, so I asked one of them if the Surf Scoter was still there, and to my
delight it was, also a Rough-legged Buzzard had been seen. As we walked along
the track, we arrived at a small pond, and to our surprise there was 5 Little
Grebes on it as well as 6 Jays, 2 Curlew and a Marsh harrier. Further on a
group of people were looking at what looked like a Buzzard, half of them were
convinced that it was just a common, but the others thought it could be a
Rough-legged, so we kept an open mind, but as the bird was in the sun it was
very hard to tell, we left the bird umming and urrghing over if it was a Rough
or not. When we arrived to the beach, we were surprised that there was hardly
anyone watching the Surf Scoter, but almost straight the way we found this
bird, it was lovely to see but very distant, this bird was with 2 Velvet, and 8
Common Scoters, for me Velvet was another new species, so 2 lifers in the same
scope!! After watching this bird we scanned around the rest of the sea, for my
dad to find a very nice female Long-tailed Duck, as well as 4 Red-throated
Divers and a flock of mainly Razorbills but there could have been some
Guillemot in with them as well. A fishing boat came along so we decided to look
at the mass of Gulls trailing behind it, for me to find a juvenile Kittiwake
towards the back of the flock. </div>
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After having views of all 3 Scoter species we headed back to
hopefully get another view of a Rough-legged Buzzard and maybe a Firecrest. As
we walked through the Pines, a group of birders were looking in the trees and
saying ‘Firecrest there, no there’ then a small bird flew out and landed in a
pine tree just above us, apparently it was the Firecrest, but we did not get a
look at it to be able to tell, as we carried on along the path and just about
to get to the car park, and buzzard came out of the trees, I got the scope on
it and yes it was a Rough-legged, with a pale tail and slight hovering now and
then, another lifer now 4 lifers in 3 hours not bad, bringing my life list up
to 245!! </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc0tPfKyICYcv85x-iSKDZNEHxKF-7F7GcijWVRkE3M9x5UHMrJMBWXRvr110r4bcFfgIXyxZl1hpXWYuqLEsJR5sbgsU5EYsz_Yb6P8NeEwqr0wonO5X4xE5x20X_55lYpjrph2bg-Ea9/s1600/IMAG0278.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc0tPfKyICYcv85x-iSKDZNEHxKF-7F7GcijWVRkE3M9x5UHMrJMBWXRvr110r4bcFfgIXyxZl1hpXWYuqLEsJR5sbgsU5EYsz_Yb6P8NeEwqr0wonO5X4xE5x20X_55lYpjrph2bg-Ea9/s1600/IMAG0278.jpg" height="320" width="285" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Record Shot of the Surf Scoter from behind (Digiscoped) </td></tr>
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After that we headed down to Thetford to meet Dave Leech
from the BTO, he is the head of the Nest record Scheme, to talk to him about
the House Martin Study that they are starting from the new year, when we
arrived we were a bit early so we popped down to Lynford Arboretum, to possibly
see a Hawfinch but no luck, but we did get Siskin, Marsh/Willow Tit, Mistle
Thrush and Nuthatch. When we arrived at the Nunnery (BTO Headquarters), we met
up with Dave and went down the Nunnery Lakes to see what was there, nothing out
of interest, just what you would normally see at lake, but there were some
Canada geese with colour neck collars, and a Green Woodpecker, after a very
interesting talk with Dave, we drove back to the cottage with 4 new species
under my belt, I couldn't wait for the next day</div>
<h3>
Day 3</h3>
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With still no ‘Pinkies’ flying over I woke up to a flock of
38 Red-legged Partridge outside my window, my dad and I decided to go and do
RSPB Titchwell and NWT Cley Marshes. We went to Titchwell first as with Cley
being closer to the cottage it was just easier, but we stopped off at the duck
ponds at Salthouse to find that the Grey Phalarope was gone, that was just
typical, so we drove down to Titchwell with ‘Pinkies’ flying around and gulls
everywhere at Cromer and Sheringham. When we arrived as soon as we got out of
the car, Goldcrests were flitting in the trees and tall bushes above us,
looking at the sightings board, it seemed quite quiet with the normal birds
you’ll expect to see, apart from a drake Red-crested Pochard, which we missed,
out on the fresh marsh 500+ Golden Plover with loads of Wigeon and Teal also
Ruff and Dunlin feeding on the mud, on the volunteer marsh, some Grey Plover,
Curlew, Redshank and Black-tailed Godwit. Then on the Salt marsh plenty of
Turnstones knocking around with a nice comparison of Bar and Black-tailed
Godwits, moving out onto the beach, it seemed that the sand dunes had been
flattened but in fact with all the weather in December last year the tide went
straight over the dunes and flooded most of the saltmarsh. After scanning along
the beach we got; Knot, Sandling, Oystercatcher, Bar-tailed Godwit and
Turnstone. There wasn't much out at sea only a few passing Herring Gulls, so we
headed back down the West bank path, this time to go into the hides as well.
First we went into the saltwater hide within the Parrinder hides; here we got
Knot, Shoveler, Curlew, Shelduck and Knot. Then at the freshwater side, we got
Snipe, Brent Goose, thousands of Golden Plover, Avocet and Teal, then all the
birds got spooked and they flew into the air , when they came down it seemed
that more ducks came down as well, after a good search through the Wigeon, I
came upon 5 very nice Pintail. After seeing that amazing spectacle we headed
towards the visitor centre, and then a group of people were looking through
their telescopes towards something on the saltmarsh, to find it was a Chinese
Water Deer, apparently there has been a resident pair for the last few years,
but this is the first time that I've seen one. It was quite a strange creature
it had two very long canines coming even out of the mouth and it was the size
of a dog, so it looked liked one of Dracula’s dogs. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8GqpAKeEjp7Wl-34MMIpvfzemb_-7BjJXk6Wzc9oMBJmee48Wqif9ejV146J7Mp1gjZ51J_bTxW_Nl_EjqXHi4EB7rzlDmaKesdLrc0ByiVbKDU_7_H4y1uMe9ntU-GkGhyphenhyphen4cuvyaOuO7/s1600/IMG_0108.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8GqpAKeEjp7Wl-34MMIpvfzemb_-7BjJXk6Wzc9oMBJmee48Wqif9ejV146J7Mp1gjZ51J_bTxW_Nl_EjqXHi4EB7rzlDmaKesdLrc0ByiVbKDU_7_H4y1uMe9ntU-GkGhyphenhyphen4cuvyaOuO7/s1600/IMG_0108.JPG" height="296" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chinese Water deer, between the bushes </td></tr>
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On the 26<sup>th</sup>, the day before we arrived in Norfolk
Richard Crossley the author of the Crossley ID guides, was dog a book signing
as well as on posters, so I asked if he could sign me one and I’ll pick it up
when I go to Titchwell, so I went and talked to the head warden Paul Eele about
the reserve and how much damage the bad weather last Christmas caused the dunes
to get flattened, after that he gave me the poster, and we talked about what we
liked at the birdfair, but as soon as we were talking we had to leave as we
were going to go to Cley Marsh.</div>
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We headed straight
for the coast to see what we cou<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a>ld find, when I asked
someone what was around he said there is 3 Grey Phalaropes from the screen, so
we were going to get Grey Phalaropes after all, as we walked down there we came
along a very nice pair of Stonechat, as well as Meadow Pipit and skylark. When
we arrived there was a small group of birders watching the birds, they were
quite distant but amazing to see 3 Phalaropes in one telescope, the first time
I saw grey Phalarope was at that exact place where these birds were now.<br />
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After heading back from seeing the Phalaropes, I went back to where the pair of Stonechats were, and then out of the grass tussocks, a very nice winter plumage Wheatear, this was my first of the year<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3G5q6okkYy8YxPdkUFyrSnuAmrG3nCR3az4MiI2HeoqspYsKP8qrUQ-Ht4Z8KIRxVuT3YU7A-yzkGFlRYDY_AX9yCEJb1GSD25ut6Eoj_BQimkD6ZPizSRFUhoXXzXnIrfp5fsPp7Poq2/s1600/IMAG0283.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3G5q6okkYy8YxPdkUFyrSnuAmrG3nCR3az4MiI2HeoqspYsKP8qrUQ-Ht4Z8KIRxVuT3YU7A-yzkGFlRYDY_AX9yCEJb1GSD25ut6Eoj_BQimkD6ZPizSRFUhoXXzXnIrfp5fsPp7Poq2/s1600/IMAG0283.jpg" height="166" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Distant Record Shot of 2 of the 3 Grey <span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Phalaropes (Digi-scoped) </span></span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQePC4gZEr-t1S695fm9xASnu8d5PXaTjdYUxj-tHEck2tTfqsgvzQtQn4MFVJIm5sqSdDrvfJpdaoH26uGQA9g9pfHEsaEhCycBAyqI2RRin1yU6BjpSY8Ta9MZklDTCdiLjPb7TX0aIv/s1600/IMG_0134.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQePC4gZEr-t1S695fm9xASnu8d5PXaTjdYUxj-tHEck2tTfqsgvzQtQn4MFVJIm5sqSdDrvfJpdaoH26uGQA9g9pfHEsaEhCycBAyqI2RRin1yU6BjpSY8Ta9MZklDTCdiLjPb7TX0aIv/s1600/IMG_0134.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Male Stonechat</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRVwjBoNHqVjnxlhjL6WuDPJvDvADCHK1cxZHuxnTVcM2yX5pYM82MBW1XZUdr_KPNV3I_EHAtI21tzy1hG1835wRnZCnsYdw20MLcSI1koT032x5_kdFlQ4P7a8ynKRst0akDxQASUJd-/s1600/IMG_0131.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRVwjBoNHqVjnxlhjL6WuDPJvDvADCHK1cxZHuxnTVcM2yX5pYM82MBW1XZUdr_KPNV3I_EHAtI21tzy1hG1835wRnZCnsYdw20MLcSI1koT032x5_kdFlQ4P7a8ynKRst0akDxQASUJd-/s1600/IMG_0131.JPG" height="190" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wheatear</td></tr>
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<h3>
Day 4</h3>
<div>
My dad and I decided to have a day on the Broads, so we left early than we had done from the cottage and headed straight for Winterton Dunes, for a good session of sea-watching, we arrived at Winterton, and with minutes loads of Brent Geese were everywhere in there thousands, small numbers of Starling were coming of the sea, whilst scanning the sea, small numbers of Linnets were flitting around and the odd Lesser Redpoll could be heard, amoung the howling wind, luckily the wins and the visibility cleared, we were surprised to see a Mute Swan riding the waves, also I saw more Gannets in 20 minutes than I've ever seen in my whole life! But then looking through my bins two black ducks flew past, one had completely black wings, making it a Common Scoter but the other bird had a big white spot on its head and on the wings there was white to the back of them, pointing towards being a Velvet Scoter! Later I relocated the scoters and it was a Velvet Scoter with its pale wing bar, and it's pale spot on its head, on our way back to the car a flock of 7 Red-Breasted Mergansers flew past as well as my first Brambling of the autumn.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjWDpa8SoyJNW4P1UGb_Ej4nsIS6U7Zy5BfC83FDmK4iqvNYNPAyX2cPo5YHS2Smb5fNbLnRFhuMHZ8ONm4sn7cJeKx07fLnMZV1-LYDJWhkzBIzteXuU2zR6VbreL8hb8OVZ7Zng8328A/s640/blogger-image--1189952849.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjWDpa8SoyJNW4P1UGb_Ej4nsIS6U7Zy5BfC83FDmK4iqvNYNPAyX2cPo5YHS2Smb5fNbLnRFhuMHZ8ONm4sn7cJeKx07fLnMZV1-LYDJWhkzBIzteXuU2zR6VbreL8hb8OVZ7Zng8328A/s400/blogger-image--1189952849.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Female Common Scoter to the left and Velvet Scoter on the right</td></tr>
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<div>
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<div>
After an amazing time we decided to go to Horesy, so first we headed to the coast and got even more Gannets, Brent geese and bigger flocks of Starling coming in, and there was a surprise to find Grey Seals right in close to the shoreline, then my dad picked up a massive flock of Common Scoter, maybe 40+ and mainly consisting of females. After wIting to see if anything else would come in we headed just inland to Horesy Mere, and as soon as we got out of the car we could hear COMMON CRANE! I've only seen two birds at Lakenheath Fen the other year in the reeds, and almost straight the way I found them, it was a pair with a juvenile, and we were really close to these birds.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9z7XlpDwQdyCsL8ihlJ-qetsWx1sLLTMJqU4zvKQnBNOXVAvJ4yMwkKyH50d9oEyCWkiurPH8KNuNKO5GB48do7M0n0AV9l1pmx0zQkdWVhmilmKWtDZF_wdOec22gnxyOXCIuXtXHyBK/s640/blogger-image-1486032468.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9z7XlpDwQdyCsL8ihlJ-qetsWx1sLLTMJqU4zvKQnBNOXVAvJ4yMwkKyH50d9oEyCWkiurPH8KNuNKO5GB48do7M0n0AV9l1pmx0zQkdWVhmilmKWtDZF_wdOec22gnxyOXCIuXtXHyBK/s400/blogger-image-1486032468.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2 of the 3 Common Cranes</td></tr>
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It was amazing to see these birds so close up, after seeing these majestic creatures we headed of to a place which I'd researched about Stubb Mill, which here was a 99% of seeing Marsh Harriers and 95% of seeing MORE COMMON CRANE! So we arrived and waited, and within 5 minutes we had 3 Crane, probably the ones from Horesy plus a Stonechat, then half an hour later, out of the middle of nowhere 37 Marsh Harriers flew into the air! It was an amazing spectacle to see and then within a minute they just disappeared! After scanning the bushes in fading light I managed to find a Merlin! What an amazing way to finish an amazing weeks birding, and if you've never been to Stubb Mill, I recommend it.</div>
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Sorry this has been late but hope you've enjoyed it</div>
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Toby Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10460894272214119675noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6708943715748155563.post-84120659087007679002014-12-24T07:58:00.000+00:002014-12-24T07:58:17.913+00:00BTO Conference 2014!!Back in September, I got an email from Ieuan Evans saying that I was going to be talking at the BTO's 81st Conference/AGM which will be held at the Hayes conference centre in Swanwick Derbyshire between the 5-7 December. I was ecstatic to know that I'd be talking in front of such an inspirational audience. Also my friends had been invited by the likes of <a href="http://wildeaboutbirds.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Findlay Wilde</a>, <a href="http://evieloution.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Evie Miller</a>, <a href="http://josiehewittphotography.co.uk/" target="_blank">Josie Hewitt</a>, <a href="http://moysiesbirdtrips.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Ben Moyes</a> and <a href="http://elliswildlife.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Ellis Lucas</a>. One or two days before the conference I got an invitation to have dinner with Andy Clements and CHRIS PACKHAM!!!!!!!!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Invite to have lunch with Chris Packham</td></tr>
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Day 1</h3>
I got home from school on the Friday afternoon, races to my bedroom, got changed and we were off to the conference, the traffic was horrible in Nottingham, we arrived at the conference at 5:30pm after going through Nottingham at rush hour was a bad idea! We were greeted by Chris Morley and some of the other staff. They showed us to our family room, with a double, single and a bunk-bed, so I had dib's on top bunk! Then I rushed down to the Lounge and Ben Hoare from the BBC Wildlife Magazine, Dawn Balmer, Ieuan Evans and Ellis Lucas and his dad. After the rest of the 'crew' arrived, we headed to the first talk of the weekend, it was Helen McDonald's talk about raptors, falconry and humans connecting together, also Helen has just released a book called H is for Hawk! After Helen's talk, all us young'uns went to the quiz straight after, our most important aim was to beat our parents! And yes we did, also we came 3rd out of 9 groups!<br />
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Day 2</h3>
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At the start of the day after breakfast, we headed down to the first talk of the day which was by Liz Humphrey's talk how renewable energy could affect birds and how birds cope with turbines offshore, which was shortly followed by 2 amazing talks by James Pearce-Higgins talking about climate change, and Kevin Gaston talk about Urbanisation and how this is affecting the birds and humans. Then after lunch it was kicked off by Mark Thomas from the RSPB, to talk about Raptor Persecution in the U.K .</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">75 years of the NRS</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2 shot Buzzards found</td></tr>
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Followed by Dave Leech celebrating 75 years of the Nest Recording Scheme with some of the younger nest recorders and what they've found including my Spotted Flycatcher nest!<br />
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As I said earlier we were just about to have dinner with Chris Packham, when we arrived at our table I was sat diagonally opposite to Chris, whilst we were having our lunch we talked about his experiences, especially his few weeks in Malta back in April. Also giving us sneak peeks at one of his new shows and some of his younger experiences with him collecting skulls of mammals and birds. After some amazing discussions and Andy Clements gives all 6 of us one of Chris Packham's books called '100 things that caught my eye' then Chris sign them all<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All us 'Young-ns' with Andy Clements and Chris Packham</td></tr>
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After lunch we had the option of going to a ringing meeting or more amazing lectures, so my dad and I chose the lectures, this started with Kate Plummer talking about why Blackcaps are starting to winter in this country and the BTO have found that the birds that winter in this country have developed to have a sharper bill so they can collect more fat from fat balls. After that fascinating talk it was Viola Ross Smith talked to us about her Lesser black-backed Gulls, then Ed Drewitt celebrating our Urban Peregrines. And Tanya Hoare talking about the Swifts that she has nesting under the eaves of her house, she even filmed them at the nest with some amazing footage.<br />
After a delicious dinner, Fin, Ben, Ellis, Josie, Evie and I went with our parents and Lucy McRobert to go and practice our speeches before the big day! When<em> </em>went up to the podium, and whilst I was doing my talk, my knees were shaking uncontrollably, this got me wondering what my knees would be like in front of 350 people! </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blackcap Study</td></tr>
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Day 3</h3>
I woke quite early and practised my speech a couple of times before taking to the podium, we all had a very nice breakfast, then us 'Young-ns' headed down to the Conference Hall early, so we could set up, and soon as we got in, everyone flooded into the hall, all 350 people, full of Ringers, Nest Recorders. Birders and Experts! Lucy introduced all of us and Ben Moyes stepped first with some amazing watercolour pictures and birding around his patch, next was Josie talking about her week on Bardsey and getting her C-permit recently, then it was my turn, I was talking about my ringing experiences, finding bird nests and starting to do the House Martin Survey. After my talk was Ellis (who had never spoken in front of an audience before!), but he talked about Waxwings outside his house, and his amazing nests which he has found including Whinchat, Common Sandpiper and Chaffinch. Next was Evie Miller (which this is her first time talking in front of an audience before) and she talked about her ringing, and last was Fin who talked about how he got interested in nature and that he wants to save nature. After our talks there was a sigh of relief from all of us, after our talks there was a break so I headed down to the bar, I never got down there because people were just asking me questions about my House Martins and Nest Recording, I bet the others had the same thing, it was amazing. <br />
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I would just like to say a massive thanks for those who have supported me and inspired me over this weekend; Evie, Ben, Ellis, Fin, Josie, Dawn Balmer, Lee Barber, Andy Clements, Chris Packham, Dave Leech, Andrew Tongue and finally my family. <br />
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But before we left, we stayed for lunch and us Young-ns and one of the people from Wildsounds, approached us and had many copies of 4 bird books, including Helm Confusing Species and North American Helm guide as well, so I ordered to which would come for free! What an early Christmas present!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBWKdKdVCb-afEkGfLEQVwLAtKKRPu-SzbCXm9hlZvap1JNOl-9QkfV8MHD7T38Lt-0C2U_71qdNhbhTx6ub7VUy_LJNrbG5YAZc8OnM3-5rtGQWZDVTRaqGsDSefRfK_DfH2WpqbSTCev/s1600/B4RQ9-FCYAAEk8j.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBWKdKdVCb-afEkGfLEQVwLAtKKRPu-SzbCXm9hlZvap1JNOl-9QkfV8MHD7T38Lt-0C2U_71qdNhbhTx6ub7VUy_LJNrbG5YAZc8OnM3-5rtGQWZDVTRaqGsDSefRfK_DfH2WpqbSTCev/s1600/B4RQ9-FCYAAEk8j.jpg" height="245" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Us Young-ns </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR0Ehpj_5W37zYXhqbFwiB4e-Ej56Xovrie82jIR6JyzBRE7dHMLkctEZKcSQVZQTTXd0BmIRZlz8hAfJDmDGcQp04-Yf4BmP2La8tSPqQz-ffRdyC0gHzsEPWyu_4btoDxZH7wyRFx8sb/s1600/B4UqpibCAAEobiz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR0Ehpj_5W37zYXhqbFwiB4e-Ej56Xovrie82jIR6JyzBRE7dHMLkctEZKcSQVZQTTXd0BmIRZlz8hAfJDmDGcQp04-Yf4BmP2La8tSPqQz-ffRdyC0gHzsEPWyu_4btoDxZH7wyRFx8sb/s1600/B4UqpibCAAEobiz.jpg" height="177" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wordle of the highlights of the Conference </td></tr>
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And a massive thank you to the BTO for hosting this event and for letting me speak in front of an amazing audience.<br />
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Toby Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10460894272214119675noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6708943715748155563.post-91604889894739282402014-12-23T07:49:00.000+00:002014-12-23T07:49:01.296+00:00Blogs on there way!Sorry that there hasn't been a blog since October, I've had some problems with Blogger but between now and the New Year, touchwood I will have to brilliant posts o a 5 day trip to Norfolk and the BTO's 81st Conference.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8cjxbrTZFo0sVedvvsrCWzviFw-HtvKq3Bw9urmh4DtQYvsiN-E_pAUeJOQJW5E4E1JrfmOb3zaX4A8BhP_0Ib33UAJljKAUt9yyPxZneXj_1WJsdy65Bnsp2KCil1TPOjgNtCksEyTe2/s1600/B4RQ9-FCYAAEk8j.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8cjxbrTZFo0sVedvvsrCWzviFw-HtvKq3Bw9urmh4DtQYvsiN-E_pAUeJOQJW5E4E1JrfmOb3zaX4A8BhP_0Ib33UAJljKAUt9yyPxZneXj_1WJsdy65Bnsp2KCil1TPOjgNtCksEyTe2/s1600/B4RQ9-FCYAAEk8j.jpg" height="245" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sneak Peaks</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sneak Peaks</td></tr>
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Toby Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10460894272214119675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6708943715748155563.post-37985986361956084102014-10-17T17:50:00.000+01:002014-10-18T07:36:43.441+01:00Save our House Martins!!!!<span style="font-family: inherit;">I bet most of you who are reading this blog, have seen our lovely summer migrant; the House Martin. This bird is about the size of a 15cm ruler and it migrates from the Tropics and South of Africa, to the breeding grounds of Northern Africa and Europe. The reason that I'm blogging about this lovely black and blue </span><span style="line-height: 16.6399993896484px;">hirundine</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 16.6399993896484px;"> is </span></span><span style="line-height: 16.6399993896484px;">because its in danger as this species has dropped down to Amber listing and we don't want it to fall to RED, as it has declined by 16% over the last 10 years, but more worrying they've </span><span style="line-height: 16.6399993896484px;">declined by 50% over the last 50 years!!!! AND WE'VE GOT TO DO SOMETHING.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiDiVfAJlbszpOKTQ7hpFb8-bMhmb4CaoX2WKkazO_bErKUg27PfRdEkn4y3Glp94N5Hy-yMJlc7TFOHcxNZti7Y63StB_sWvrSVblsYZuTUxY4sMaHqsj39V6IvM37xlwG_u34Pkb0t7n/s1600/B0Jv_knCUAAo7_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiDiVfAJlbszpOKTQ7hpFb8-bMhmb4CaoX2WKkazO_bErKUg27PfRdEkn4y3Glp94N5Hy-yMJlc7TFOHcxNZti7Y63StB_sWvrSVblsYZuTUxY4sMaHqsj39V6IvM37xlwG_u34Pkb0t7n/s1600/B0Jv_knCUAAo7_1.jpg" height="255" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="line-height: 16.6399993896484px;">The BTO are launching from 2015-2016 a special survey on House Martins will be conducted in 2015:</span><br />
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<li style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;"><b><i>A national survey in 2015 to gather information on the House Martin population, local distribution and their habitat preferences.</i></b></li>
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<span style="color: #404848;"><span style="line-height: 16.6399993896484px;">And in 2016:</span></span><br />
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<li style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;"><b><i>A nest monitoring study in 2016 to learn about breeding success, timings and location of nests.</i></b></li>
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<span style="line-height: 16.6399993896484px;">So here are some ways to help out our House Martins:</span><br />
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<li><span style="line-height: 16.6399993896484px;"> If you are not already a member</span><span style="line-height: 16.6399993896484px;"> of the BTO, DO SO!</span></li>
<li><span style="line-height: 16.6399993896484px;">Go to the BTO's website and donate or sign up for their Survey by clicking on the link; <a href="http://www.bto.org/support-us/current-appeals/house-martin-appeal?dm_i=IG4,2TMR2,5AE8W7,A90TI,1%C2%A0" target="_blank">http://www.bto.org/support-us/current-appeals/house-martin-appeal?dm_i=IG4,2TMR2,5AE8W7,A90TI,1 </a></span></li>
<li>Over this Autumn and Winter put artificial nests up under eaves of your house to encourage the birds to come and nest.</li>
<li>Don't forget to add your sightings to Birdtrack as well!!</li>
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For as long as I can remember, my family have been lucky enough to have House Martins breeding under the eaves of my house, and last Autumn my dad bought 2 artificial nests to help boost our local House Martin population so we have 2 artificial and 5 natural nests, during this summer holiday just gone, my ringing group decided to do a study to see how many juveniles and adults will return, also to see if the juveniles from last year will take the nest from which they came from, from the adults?<br />
So far we have ringed 13 birds so can't wait to carry on the project next spring!!!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgydgGCVi_VWW6WPc22T0NeYgM0MF1qBOqdh9Id4awD1KBG8amn8PGY9vYM_JE4x9m0lzms5E5sMz9JquCtjUEzzE4ju5Q7JZQulcdtDILp_tceer0yCmpr_fVuOWc0-1n9-CLbTt-SELfE/s1600/Bsrh1G5CcAEi9LW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgydgGCVi_VWW6WPc22T0NeYgM0MF1qBOqdh9Id4awD1KBG8amn8PGY9vYM_JE4x9m0lzms5E5sMz9JquCtjUEzzE4ju5Q7JZQulcdtDILp_tceer0yCmpr_fVuOWc0-1n9-CLbTt-SELfE/s1600/Bsrh1G5CcAEi9LW.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">House Martins </td></tr>
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Toby Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10460894272214119675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6708943715748155563.post-59093726321712314452014-10-03T17:54:00.000+01:002014-10-04T10:37:16.778+01:00Boy what a great month for ringingSorry about the lack of blogging recently, because I'm settling in to Year 10, with coursework starting already so even less birding time.<br />
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Since I've last done a ringing update (its been a while), I've been trying to get out ringing when I can, especially if the weather plays in our favour and boy it has, even when I've been able to go ringing, the others have been catching so many great birds.<br />
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A week after the Birdfair I went and cut the rides with my ringer, it started raining so we took shelter under a tree and talked about what we would catch tomorrow, both of us agreed the usual lot like Blackcap, Chiffchaff and possibly a late Willow Warbler. When I got home I got told that I couldn't make the session down to seeing friends, but I wish I was there as they caught 1 TREE PIPIT, 2 Male REDSTARTS, plus even better a NIGHTINGALE!! Nightingale and Redstart are species I've never seen.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc12fh63XSzVzSBsVc0Pqdf47j2hLaG7hqAbm9RCN-bu_Pc67ImNeZnRhpt1U6q6QEFlE3omBeFwB-6WOA5UknrivI_n583SLPUE4u73scZ0Kunt73rkP5O9QnbKz5wO_4OwvmkLvJO58K/s1600/IMG_0324.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc12fh63XSzVzSBsVc0Pqdf47j2hLaG7hqAbm9RCN-bu_Pc67ImNeZnRhpt1U6q6QEFlE3omBeFwB-6WOA5UknrivI_n583SLPUE4u73scZ0Kunt73rkP5O9QnbKz5wO_4OwvmkLvJO58K/s1600/IMG_0324.JPG" height="320" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Redstart</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkQN_na6IfNlO4j8FmfopgeJ5n2DA7CMUxJSSvwua76gw5wOwUxwR5_y0k6XiE8xSO9NeUv6Vb6SKifcW0Idp4e8dwp9f_tc0B7KE3PArQdOkSfsz35WJpyW9wyRIt2JOoIa1wMG7DByaK/s1600/IMG_0331.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkQN_na6IfNlO4j8FmfopgeJ5n2DA7CMUxJSSvwua76gw5wOwUxwR5_y0k6XiE8xSO9NeUv6Vb6SKifcW0Idp4e8dwp9f_tc0B7KE3PArQdOkSfsz35WJpyW9wyRIt2JOoIa1wMG7DByaK/s1600/IMG_0331.JPG" height="320" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tree Pipit</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqYZflLXt2FXxM59IQpFvJW4R9wzRxXmvpe3mUrjeF1oxk4v6yXtg1H2xMJledqF1OXLe4cfWZkxQ2NYOdaypksFPQonRT_15eDA9D-EKUqplYBRXjfbe-fkkgy4DBCHqXCDrwD5ae333c/s1600/IMG_0330.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqYZflLXt2FXxM59IQpFvJW4R9wzRxXmvpe3mUrjeF1oxk4v6yXtg1H2xMJledqF1OXLe4cfWZkxQ2NYOdaypksFPQonRT_15eDA9D-EKUqplYBRXjfbe-fkkgy4DBCHqXCDrwD5ae333c/s1600/IMG_0330.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nightingale </td></tr>
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If you had seen my last update we managed to catch a Kingfisher, 2 weeks later. Sadly I couldn't make the session but they managed to catch another Kingfisher, plus another stonking male Redstart!!<br />
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Also we've caught Reed Warbler, Garden Warbler and Tawny Owl as well recently!!!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2WGe3YFCp7JcECt6812rhHtJhwGkKR1BrZYnkq9hhwC0Ir6Q8hORf9cw7cBEKsJPFVHR-cUCQjiAsu2ODaxZd3ZxV3ZFeAI-mGmTEc5xUOdePpDJGhhyphenhyphen8jFe4YFt5IgP7M-GJqraAOdsV/s1600/IMG_0336.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2WGe3YFCp7JcECt6812rhHtJhwGkKR1BrZYnkq9hhwC0Ir6Q8hORf9cw7cBEKsJPFVHR-cUCQjiAsu2ODaxZd3ZxV3ZFeAI-mGmTEc5xUOdePpDJGhhyphenhyphen8jFe4YFt5IgP7M-GJqraAOdsV/s1600/IMG_0336.JPG" height="320" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tawny Owl<br />
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<br />Toby Carterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10460894272214119675noreply@blogger.com0