Blogs

hello everybody, i have a problem that i'm hoping someone has some practical advice for. my landlord has netted all of the carport ceiling area where i live to prevent the swallows from nesting there again. the reasons are simply to prevent them making a mess all over the boiler and door step...

But then again I am definitely not an expert. I'm barely a novice. :P Anyway, in Padstow on the cycle route near the estuary, I noticed this large heron. Just standing right next to the bike route. No-one was taking any notice so I went up to it (could it be a statue?) but it did walk around a...

Well It is the end of 2011 so I couldn't resist the obligatory best bits post. Why not let us know your best bit by leaving a comment. Record waterfowl numbers on the reserve This year has seen the highest numbers of waterfowl ever recorded on the reserve. A few years ago I would have got very...

Apologies for the lack of a recent sightings update. It's not that there hasn't been much happening. Far from it. We've actually had a really busy couple of weeks for birds. I'll try to summarise the highlights for you. Skuas have featured heavily for those keen enough to try a bit...

Hello, Some photos from October at Dungeness. Nice to see these fellows enjoying the weather Damselfly Swallows Willow Warbler or Chiff Chaff Redstart Mute Swan Snipe x 3 Have fun RR.

Several weeks ago my wife and I were munching our lunch at the top end of the main street in Askham (Eastern Lake District) and saw what I think was a young raven attempting to catch swallows. It kept gaining height and then diving on the nearest swallow, not the same one each time as far as we could...

With dropping temperatures, high winds, showers and the threat of snow over high ground, winter is definitely on its way! With our winter migrants making landfall and spreading out across the UK, and with Feed The Birds Day on October 29, now is the perfect opportunity for a quick checklist on the essentials...

The recent spell of warm sunny weather and light southerly winds has held migration up a little bit, with very few reports of birds such as redwing or brambling that we'd usually expect to arrive in late September. That's not to say that there aren't any winter migrants here yet. Two snow...

Fine morning and a fair bit of overhead traffic. Over/on the south brooks at 08.00 small numbers of swallows, yellow wagtails, siskins, skylarks, pied wagtails and single grey wagtail. Also noted a hobby, a spotted flycatcher (perhaps my last of both this summer?), and a stonechat (my first on the brooks...

Time for another of my rather infrequent updates, as I STILL can't access the RSPB website from Elmley. We're still trying to fix the problem, but it's a slow process. Highlight of the month so far was the discovery of a grey phalarope on the Flood reservoir on Saturday night. It was still...

Here is Ken Croft's latest write-up: "The month started with two Green Sandpipers, one of which remained until the 4th, three Spotted Flycatchers were present on the 1st and a juvenile Bullfinch fed with the Linnet flock. The next day new migrants were a Lesser Whitethroat and a Grasshopper...

I don't mean The Wire TV series (although apparently it's brilliant). I mean the real one: telegraph and phone wires. Because this weekend they could be getting very busy as house martins and swallows show off their tightrope balancing skills. My bird book, Birds of Britain and Europe , says...

It's that time of year again i'm afraid... the nights are drawing in (dark at 9 o'clock last night!) and the Swallows are saying their farewells. This isn't a message of doom and gloom though, it's a celebration of what's been a wonderful summer shared with with my Hirundine friends...

This pr of youngsters have just spotted one of the parent birds on the way with food.

Taken in Haverigg,lots of areas in this small village adjacent to the Hodbarrow reserve where these migrants arrive each year .

Young Swallow chick receiving food from a parent bird.Taken in Haverigg,Cumbria

Hi All I took these photos this afternoon. My first photos of swallows.

Hello All, Below are some photos from a visit to Elmley on Wednesday. Six Spoonbill's Spotted Redshank Green Sandpiper Turnstone Avocet's & Chick Humbugs And finally a Swallow at the car park

All its siblings were out on a nearby branch over the water and the parents were having a hard time getting this young Swallow to join them. Taken on 30th June 2011.

What a brilliant tour guide Rhona turned out to be! She and her friend Mirry took hubby and me (and Purdy and Lola, our 2 dogs) round her old patch in the Scottish Borders, and was very kind not to drag us up mountains. Instead, she took us the easy route to the bottom of Grey Mare’s Tail waterfall...

Photographed at Talla Reservoir, Scottish Borders

We are blessed with a delightful swallow family who have returned to the same spot on our property for the 4 summers that we have owned it. They build their nest in the same spot, at the back of a rarely used outbuilding attached to our house, and we dutifully leave the door open 24/7. However, we...

I came across these hungry youngsters last june

This little swallow had just left the nest which was in a farm barn in Sussex and landed on the fence. I took this on August 29th last year

Ham Wall RSPB Reserve. Soon to fly south.

Fledgling swallows seen near sluice on Wednesday 16 June 2010 while on Magic of Minsmere walk.

Barn Swallow gathering nesting material.