Garden / Yard List 2023 (4 Viewers)

[Bismarck Honeyeater]

Pretty lacklustre this morning, a reasonable number of birds but nothing to get the juices flowing. Until, c.08:00 a #92 Green Sandpiper flew silently, low overhead. Would have missed it completely if I had been facing the other way. Makes we wonder what else I miss.

I checked the date and my first ever Green Sandpipers, 3 of them together, flew over a year and 2 days ago. They were 96 for the year, so I’m still a bit behind.

 

[Bismarck Honeyeater]

Having been on “withdrawal” since Sunday at last an almost regular….through the looking glass no.81

I’m due one soon, or it will be too late, they are a Jul/Aug bird here.

 

[KenM]

I’m due one soon, or it will be too late, they are a Jul/Aug bird here.

Late July through to late October for me, with the main peak in September.

 

[Richard Prior]

Lesser Whitethroat peaks in late August here……………. Well, my only ever record was 28 August 2019 so perhaps not a representative sample on which to base my conclusion

 

[birdmeister]

Brief highlights from today's session:

Massive overnight migration was met by a calm, cloudless morning. Uh-oh...

Surely I missed birds up in the blue, with conditions just right for them to stay way up there. Still, 221 migrants and only 51 were doves. Variety was nice, and yet another new yard species passed over very high up.

Solitary Sandpiper - 1 (2nd yard record)
112. Olive-sided Flycatcher (new yard species #132!)
Lark Sparrow - 38
Lark Bunting - 3
Nashville Warbler - 1
Yellow Warbler - 3
Townsend's Warbler - 1

 

[Jos Stratford]

Continuing nice selection of birds - resident flock of Cranes has climbed to an impressive 210, the evening chorus as they all fly to roost very evocative.

As well as this, a Common Redstart for the last three days (only my eleventh ever on my land), still a few lingering Whinchats and Red-backed Shrikes, plus three juv Common Rosefinches hanging out near my feeders.

141. Common Redstart

 

[Bismarck Honeyeater]

A Reed Warbler was the only thing out of the ordinary this morning. More likely in Spring or even Summer, though not breeding closer than about 1km. Only had them in Aug/Sep in one year.

View attachment IMG_9193.mov

Still at least 1 Swift around and quite a flock of Hirundines, mobbing a Kestrel. Where are the Hobbies? A very strange year for Falcons. Never made it to the end of August with just 1 Hobby sighting and no Pergrines!

 

[KenM]

A relatively quiet day for me too, no tran Saharan ticks, in fact quite the reverse, it appears that I’m ahead of myself by one.😩
Would never have made an accountant.🤣

 

[Jos Stratford]

... a Common Redstart for the last three days (only my eleventh ever on my land)

Close on the heels of this bird, another Common Redstart! Flitting around my well fence posts by lawn and associated trees, this one was a nice male (all previous eleven have been females/young birds).

Nine Ruff over this morning too (my first ever in autumn, follows on from a record number in spring)

 

[Richard Prior]

In the almost total absence of passerine migrants (just one more Pied Flycatcher heard), I focused on the distant mountains in the brief dry spell yesterday evening, I had a new personal birding experience at one moment with three birds together in the ‘scope view, a Griffon Vulture, a Cinereous Vulture and a Lammergeier all circling closer and closer to the ‘Manigod Needle’ crag, some of the vultures landed to spend a soggy, stormy night up there. Tough birds!

 

[Jos Stratford]

... some of the vultures landed to spend a soggy, stormy night up there. Tough birds!

Was a soggy night here too, didn't find many vultures however 🙂

Top raptor this morning was a very determined female Sparrowhawk repeatedly trying to catch a Black Woodpecker

 

[Bismarck Honeyeater]

Not much of anything here, after the rain last night. However did see a Fox, for only the third time in over 5 years. Strange, as we have a Foxes den out back, so presumably breed in the garden. Unlike where we used to live in London, Foxes here are pretty much nocturnal, so perhaps to so surprising.

 

[Richard Prior]

Not much of anything here, after the rain last night. However did see a Fox, for only the third time in over 5 years. Strange, as we have a Fixes den out back, so presumably breed in the garden. Unlike where we used to live in London, Foxes here are pretty much nocturnal, so perhaps to so surprising.

Is that where the local druggies hang out BH?

 

[halftwo]

A, perhaps, overdue addition this morning, considering they are not uncommon in the wider area: a flyover

85: Tree Sparrow.

 

[Steve Lister]

Went out into the back garden to set up my moth trap last night and was amazed to find.....

August 26th
70. Red-legged Partridge - not only NFY but a garden lifer, #105.

What it was doing on my concrete and gravel, half a mile at least from proper habitat, I have no idea.

This morning I heard the first Siskin(s) of the autumn going over as well as the first GSWoodpecker for ages.

 

[Bismarck Honeyeater]

Is that where the local druggies hang out BH?

No, they are much closer than that. 😡

 

[halftwo]

Two in a day!!

86: Redshank

Calling

 

[Richard Prior]

Despite (or perhaps thanks to) the incessant rain there was a little flurry of activity here just now, a mixed Blue, Great and Marsh Tit feeding group had a Common Treecreeper tagging along, only the third this year and the first since April. Finally a Pied Flycatcher actually showed (all heard only birds up to now) and the cherry on the gateau my first

83 Willow Warbler

here since 2021!

 

[Steve Lister]

the cherry on the gateau

I have always liked a good Black Forest gateau - and it is my birthday on Thursday so might treat myself.

 

[Richard Prior]

I have always liked a good Black Forest gateau - and it is my birthday on Thursday so might treat myself.

Happy Birthday in advance then Steve, I would send some cherries but our avian friends ate them all, I think I got up to ten species scoffing them a few weeks back, and now the Tit flocks are doing their best to prevent us having plum tart, still it’s good to share, as I keep telling my wife!

Evening edit: Middle Spotted Woodpecker juveniles have extra black on the head which wears to red (not a plumage shown in most Bird Guide books), the opposite of Great Spotted where the juvs have extra red on the head which wears to black! Photos attached of a young MSW which visited this afternoon.