As my old thread is still locked up I thought I'd start & new one. New home, new thread, new forum!!
Since moving in we've been really busy but here are a few photos taken along the way, these are a pair of Gland weevils, up to something naughty on the moth trap,
a Shield bug (for Rockwolf, where is she?) ,Pantilus tunicatus,
A flight of storks passing over on migration, someone asked me once, how do you know a bird is on migration "Does it have it's suitcase with it?" & they are quite right, most of the time it's circumstantial evidence,
& a local stork flying around,
meanwhile, whilst insulating the roof space I found this perfectly dried Garden dormouse (male!) which obviously died a horrible death from poisoning,
a Robin on the overhead cable, they don't come too close;
This is it's & our view of the estuary marshes,
A spider visiting the moth trap, Hogna radiata,
A burying beetle, Necrodes littoralis, also around the moth-trap
& a hornet, who wasn't agressive fortunately,
a Migrant Hawker on the marshes,
some Great White Egrets,
Cattle Egrets (probably), sitting on the fence,
& finally another Spider around the moth trap, Xysticus sp,
I'll try & finish this update later. Thanks for looking.
Best wishes
Hazel in Southwest France
Wonderful thread Hazel, you do spot some fantastic species and its always enjoyable to see your lovely photos. Don't know how you've had time to hand sew your 4 pairs of new curtains with all there is to view outside the window lol Wish I could post you some Cyrils lol
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Regards, Hazel
Great stuff Hazel and the bugs were an added bonus to the birds,do the Harriers stay on over the winter ?
Easy to tell if a bird is on migration you can usually read the destinations on their luggage labels,its why we use zooms on our scopes !!
Pete
Birding is for everyone no matter how good or bad we are at it,enjoy it while you can
So good to hear from you HinNH & see your lovely pics! Between you & Bente we have a great insight into the Storks, so interesting for us here as we do not get them! You are so industrious, makes me envy your enthusiasm & drive ... & hand sewing curtains too!!! Have a good (maybe relaxing) Christmas & New Year!
2013 photos & vids here
eff37 on Flickr
Thanks all!
Hazy : Can Cyrils sew? That would be an added bonus.
Wendy : I think I've got the NH bit on the end!! I've been wanting to post for ages but I seem to be permanantly dipping in for 5 minutes while I have a cup of tea!
Pete : We get a lot of harriers come here for the winter along with busards, so our population goes up rather than down. It's always a bit of a thorny issue as to whether a bird is on migration or no. Huge flocks of Cranes & Geese are easy, but raptors & small birds you see flitting around are much more tricky. I once saw an observation of 50,000 starlings "on migration" recorded in the morning at their regular roosting spot!! Presumably the author wasn't a local & didn't know they would all be back the next evening. Local rules apply!!
Glad you are taking time out from your DIY work to catch up on the local wildlife.
Nice to see the Storks are still around and the Harriers spending the winter with you.
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Tony
My Flickr Photostream
It's ages since I've posted on this thread, mainly due to lack of birds or photo opportunities or time!! The curtains got finished for New Years eve & we are now pulling out the old kitchen & putting in a new one. However we do try & go for a walk a few times a week. I'll start with one of my favorites & they hopped around (as they do) but managed to get a few decent shot's of these long tailed tits,
We went out on New Years day, which was lovely & sunny, & saw lots of Storks about including some new arrivals for the breeding season,
& then my best ever view of a kingfisher, the first photo was with the sun behind me & then it flew along the ditch & the sun was the other way. The difference in colour is striking.
On a different topic, this little Shield bug was hiding around a window, it's called a Masked hunter & apparantly it's body is covered in little hairs which pick up the debris from wherever it is so it blends in, I think it's covered in dust & sand!!
We've got our own Black redstart this winter who visits on wet dull days to poke around the roof, high ISO needed,
Back on the marshes & we have 2 couples of Fan-tailed warblers on our regular walk. They are always several clumps of reeds ahead of us, but these are the best of the shots,
And then a few days ago, on our regular walk again, a group of 9 Spoonbills. It was so lovely to see them, even if it was through the high grass & reeds! Then they flew off so I got a couple of in-flights too. 3 of them were ringed but we had no chance of reading them.
A Cattle Egret (renamed thanks to Aiki) flew in to see what the fuss was about,
These Lapwings were sitting around in a field, but only 1 moved LOL
& a group of Snipe (I think) got disturbed
It's raining again today, but at least we've had a few nice walks recently. Thanks for looking.
Oooh, great pics, esp. the stunning Black Redstart. Great little shieldbug too, never seen that species before. Btw your flying egret is Cattle Egret rather than Great White.
My blog: http://mazzaswildside.blogspot.co.uk/
My Flickr page: https://www.flickr.com/photos/124028194@N04/
Gosh, I ought to know the difference shouldn't I, there was a Gt White around, but obviously not that one! Thanks Aiki!
Glad you are finding time from your house renovations to get out and about.
Nice to see the Storks returning, I wish they'd hop across the Channel. Spoonbills are beginning to be seen much more now in the UK. Well done with the Kingfisher but the star bird is the gorgeous Black Redstart.
Always great to see your updates Noisette-how wonderful to see these species on your walks! I've had the highest numbers of LTT's in my garden this year, such gorgeous little things.Lovely shot of the Storks and amazing colours on the Kingfisher. I've not heard of a Fan Tailed Warbler,but we are getting sightings of Black Redstarts here now-how lucky you are to get one on your roof-great photos too!
Jayne
See my Flickr photos here.