Garden / Yard List 2024 (2 Viewers)

[Farnboro John]

I dream that one day a Sand Martin will get a bit lost and wander up here…
Anyway, they say it’s the early bird that gets the worm, my problem today being that this particular early bird (me) couldn’t tell which ‘worm’ (bird) I had!
06h50, chuffed after successfully spotting a Cuckoo on the Sulens mountainside (and a handsome Fox trotting above the tree line) a slim-winged Harrier rose up behind the summit and started heading north, despite following it in the ‘scope for over a minute I only managed to exclude Marsh and Hen, but the light conditions this early meant it was impossible to even tell if it was male or female. Given the rapid increase in Pallid Harrier sightings through France and Switzerland it’s no longer possible to assume an early May migrating bird is Montagu’s (as I’m sure everyone used to do until recent years I suspect with such individuals too distant or badly lit to discern plumage details) so it’s a BOP that remains unidentified to species.

So just one to add:

72 Cuckoo (2 days later than last year’s first)

Oh what a Circus.....

John

 

[Richard Prior]

Oh what a Circus.....

John

Haha, good job I’m the calm type as a Pallid was seen near Geneva (c45kms North of here) mid- morning and another seen early afternoon about the same distance SW of us. Otherwise my face would be as red as Red Kite and my mood as black as a possible Black Kite

 

[halftwo]

Looking out for non-existent Swifts when a flock of

78: Bar-tailed Godwit

flew over!!

 

[pete wragg]

117 - Rough-legged Buzzard, 1 flew south
118 - Red-legged Partridge, 2 grange farm

 

[halftwo]

79: HOBBY

A 2cy bird drifting over high, insect-catching, N, then E.

 

[halftwo]

And another within 5 mins!! This an adult!

 

[Farnboro John]

Overdue garden tick Osprey, South a bit West of our position and then five minutes later back North straight over the top. A good reward for a three-hour sit in a plastic chair looking up. Garden list now stands at 106 spp.

56. Osprey

John

 

[pete wragg]

119 - Little Tern, several blogging offshore

 

[Frank van Drogen]

I was very lucky, early this evening. My wife and me were sitting outside after quite an exhausting weekend. I noticed two swallow like shapes high up, definitely too far away to identify without bins. I got up to grab them from the house, mentioning to my wife that the chances would be low they'd still be there when I was ready to look.

Indeed, they were gone when I came back. I however saw another shape coming closer, I got my bins on it and to my surprise it was a (XXVIII) Marsh Harrier!!! They are regularly seen at the Katzensee, which is about 2.5 km in a direct line -- but I had never seen one close to our place.
-----
I am actually sure I will get those swallows at some other point later this summer -- not sure how often I will see a Harrier this or any other year

 

[Richard Prior]

Nice one Frank, at least you identified it to species which is more than I did with my Harrier sp on Saturday !

 

[Steve Lister]

May 6th
64. Oystercatcher - 1+ heard distantly at the end of my pre-breakfast session
65. Swift - up to 10 feeding plus another ten in a tight bunch went north

An eagle, presumed White-tailed, not much more than a mile away was a tad frustrating.

 

[pete wragg]

120 - Jay, 1 flew south over garden

 

[Richard Prior]

A nice surprise on yet another cool and wet day, only the second ever Spring record for here of a

73 Spotted Flycatcher

perched up atop the trees across the road about 100m away. Earlier a male Linnet posed just outside the kitchen window and the Blue, Great and Coal Tit pairs are busy fetching caterpillars for their newly hatched young. A bit of sunshine would be nice though.....................
Late afternoon edit:

74 Red-backed Shrike

a female, and a bit of sunshine to boot !

 

[Farnboro John]

Late notification: I was outside changing the powerbank on the moth trap late the other night (3/5) and heard a Coot calling as it seemed to fly along the line of the brook.

57. Coot.

I'm also trying to track down a list inconsistency as my year list table shows 58 in the garden and I have only 57 listed on here! More later....

Well that was easy: I'd added last night's male Tawny Owl shouting its head off (and getting very slurred sleep-filled responses from a Carrion Crow) to the table but not on here. We don't get Tawnies annually but recent years have been better and I've an idea they are breeding close by.

58. Tawny Owl

All straight again.

John

 

[Richard Prior]

I’ve been ‘scoping towards two isolated pines on the E flank of Sulens mountain the past week or so (when visibility permits) to see if history would repeat itself after last May’s Garden lifer, finally a clear blue dawn today and bingo, it’s back, 6 days later than last year:

75 Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush

display flying from the same trees as in ‘23- result!

Mid-morning edit:

76 Common Swift

I saw a few were back in the village this morning when I did the bakery run (well, walk really), so a quick scan while having a coffee just now yielded three tearing a round a distant farmyard. Average arrival date over the past 5 years is 6 May so pretty punctual.

 

[Warixenjalka]

Late update:

#47. Pied Flycatcher - 2nd May

April total was 35. Quite sad if you compare to - for example - Richards 41 species on one day