Finally.... a day off....

That wasn't accompanied by bucketfuls of rain. Grey and blowy, but dry (except underfoot!) so I decided on the Trailway, as it is mainly a firm pathway. A fair few of the pics have been lightened, because a lot of the walk was spent peering through twigs, dead leaves and branches to find my quarry.

I was greeted by Mrs BB, now you see it....

now you don't!

I'm not sure if this is another female BB, a juvenile BB or some rare pipit/thrush cross!!

There were several shouty Robins along the walk, and despite their proximity to one another, they seemed to be letting rip at passers by rather than each other

I haven't been pecking the mud, honest, Guv

Where the river had burst it's banks a few days ago, a crowd of gulls had been drawn to the area, despite being 20 odd miles from the coast. A chap I met on the trail said he thought there were c600, a mix of mainly Common, but with a few Black Headed and Herring mixed in.... a Common Gull in flight (wing mirrors at the wing tip apparently makes it so!)

Another of those pipit/BB/thrush hybrids

Apparently the sheep had escaped yesterday and were spread along the trailway, this little chap looks none the worse for wear

A flock (charm?) of a dozen or more Greenfinch alighted upon a nearby tree, so of course, I managed to snap the one that looks suspiciously like a Yellowhammer(??) without realising!

Along with the traditional Greenfinch

A model of Natural Engineering, considering how wet and windy it has been the last month or more, it's amazing to see it still intact, probably a little larger than a tennis ball

Another of the Robins

Next, one of the birds I hoped to be able to see and snap when I left home, Redwing

The famous North Dorset Cormorant Tree, just coming into bloom

And a section of the field with some of the copious amount of gulls in it

Two different makes of gull, "floating" head on into the wind as they descend to land, the lower one is a Black Headed, but not sure of the other, with the black tipped tail fan

I was watching them, thinking it must be awesome to be a bird with a stiff breeze blowing....as long as it's blowing in the right direction!!

And finally, a first for me, a flock of Fieldfare descended into a tree a little way in front of me...

And then after the briefest of stops, they were off

I hope you enjoyed my ramble, and may the weather remain clement so I can go out again, hopefully sooner than in a month!!

Stay Safe All

  • Well there was certainly plenty for you to photograph on your wee walk PB.
    Nice pics
     Feels like its dark all the time now here Confused

  • Plenty for you to see on your walk - excellent stuff.
    For me, those are all female (and possibly young) BB's.
    The Robins are probably wondering why you didn't have any food for them, knowing how pushy they are!
    Good to see that many Fieldfares. I've only managed one so far this winter.
    Just to clear on the gulls: wing mirrors are present in Great Black-backed, Lesser Black-back, Herring and Common Gulls and some of the more rarely seen ones (but only in adults for all). Commons do often have big ones for their size, given that they are much smaller birds than all the others, so it does help to differentiate smaller gulls (ie Common from Black-headed). A black tail tip just means juvenile but doesn't really help decide which species. Gulls can be tricky but you slowly get the hang of the routine ones with practice!
  • Great Variety PB The Thrush type bird looks like a juvenile blackbird at least it does in my bird book but then again ?
    Looks like you had a good day, well done.
  • Lovely pics, PB, looks like you had a good walk. Love the muddy knees on the lamb.  As for the BB, I'd go for female or possibly juvenile, too. Not a clue on the Gulls, however, but I expect Nigel knows what he's talking about (and Clare, if she sees this thread, as well as several long-time experts who sometimes post on this Forum). I'm saving Gulls for my next life. Not enough time left in this one for such stuff and happy to depend on others for their knowledge!

  • A lovely day was had PB, a good selection there, I think you have had your answers to the gulls and the BB.
  • Thanks everyone, especially with ID tips Nige. You do know I won't retain that information for more than one or maybe two sleeps, don't you? Grinning

  • PimperneBloke said:
    You do know I won't retain that information for more than one or maybe two sleeps, don't you? 

    Then you will fail the test! What, you didn't know there would be a surprise test somewhere down the line? Oh dear, oh dear!!

  • That's ok, Nige, I'll just answer "Variable" to everything, I'll get at least half right, variable plumage, variable damsel, variable sanity...
  • Great to see your walk with all the wildlife around, love that field of gulls, the cormorant tree and maybe the yellow hammer, fabulous.
  • A lovely set of photos PB, and a good selection to make that day off worthwhile.

    I'm starting to look forward to an endless  selection of days off, if Mrs PR doesn't find too many tasks to keep me busy! Thinking