Where to Watch Wildlife....Abroad - Recent threads

John Heinz Wildlife Refuge, Philadelphia, USA

Stuart Vine — Wed, 01 May 2013 16:15:49 GMT

Want to get out of the city for a while without driving anywhere? Want to get away from it all for a day? Want to do some birding? If so, get the airport train from Market East, Suburban or 30^th Street Stations to Eastwick and head out of town. When you get off the train, cross the road and walk along Crane Street until it joins up with S84th Street. Turn left and continue on until you get to the junction with Lindbergh Blvd. Turn left again and walk until you see the sign for the Refuge on your right.

Inside you’ll find more than 1000 acres of mixed habitat: tidal marsh; lakes; wet and dry woodland and meadows. Despite the fact that the Refuge is bordered on one side by the freeway, train line and airport you can wander along the 10 miles of tracks and feel that you are deep in an older America.

If you don’t feel like being alone, you can join one of the many themed walks from the excellent visitors centre and have a guided tour of some of the natural highlights of the place. A list of the walks is available from their website. Even if you don’t go on a themed walk you are likely to bump into friendly, knowledgeable staff and other visitors who will help you identify the birds and other wildlife. I had the pleasure of meeting some of these people and they were brilliant company – I can now tell you the difference between some of the many species of sparrow that live there!

I was there in late October, the weather was still sunny and mild and the place was alive with birds and beasts. Being British I was delighted to see that American icon, the Bald Eagle, but even happier to see Woodchucks.

Woodchuck

Now, I know American readers will be going, “pah, Woodchucks, common as dirt”, but to me they were exciting, OK? The air above the lakes was swarming with tree swallows and the trees with yellow-rumped warblers. Chuck in rafts of ducks, red tailed and red shouldered hawks and a whole host of other birds (see below) as well as deer, chipmunks and turtles. This is a place I fell in love with immediately, so much so that I spent two Sundays there.

The visitor centre has some interesting exhibits as well as providing useful things like toilets, food and drink. There is also a small gift shop (I have a very cool baseball cap and no shame when it comes to wearing it).

For more information, including walks, opening times, etc, go to: http://www.fws.gov/heinz/index.html

Bird List:

Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Mute Swan
Canada Goose
Black Duck
Mallard
Northern Pintail
Wood Duck
Northern Shoveler
Green-Winged Teal
Ruddy Duck
Turkey Vulture
Red-Tailed Hawk
Red-Shouldered Hawk
Bald Eagle
Greater Yellowlegs
Ring-Billed Gull
Laughing Gull
Forster’s Tern
Mourning Dove
Belted Kingfisher
Red-Bellied Woodpecker
Eastern Phoebe
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-Winged Swallow
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Ruby-Crowned Kinglet
Golden-Crowned Kinglet
American Robin
Gray Catbird
American Crow
Yellow-Rumped Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Northern Cardinal
House Finch
White-Throated Sparrow
White-Crowned Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Rusty Blackbird
Common Grackle
Red-Winged Blackbird

Apologies for the lack of pictures, I only had my city camera on me as I was there on business.

Photos from Belgium/Holland

bob's_retired_now — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 22:38:40 GMT

Although our recent trip to Bruges and surroundings was not a birding holiday, I managed a few snaps on a couple of outings as well as being allowed a trip to Het Zwin Nature reserve on the Belgian coast - I must have been good(-:)

The first picture was taken in Rotterdam Zoo, where we specifically went to see there Gorilla family. At one point there isa bridge under a railway line between the two parts of the Zoo. This White Stork nest is built on one of the gantries supporting the electric cabling -on the bottom edge you can just see some wood - it appears that certain gantries have wooden constructs on top to persuade the Storks to use thes rather than others.

More White Storks in the Zoo. No danger of their eggs being stoilen - this column rises from the Lion enclosure.

After posting the small Kingfishers "at it", its only fair to post some bigger birds(-:)

A Cormorant that flew in at Pelican feeding time.

Two Heron who were also intruders - they just look awkward in trees(-:).

A buzzard while we were out on our cycle ride on day 2.

A cormorant on the canal bank ion the way back to the hotel.

A mute Swan nesting at the same spot.

Also seen on our cycle ride - the farmer informed us it had only been born that morning.

Day 3 saw us visit the reserve at Het Zwin. Their speciality is Whie Storks, providing nesting places for them, though they are wild birds. They also feed them daily as with the Red Kite feeding sytations so I guess they are not 1005 wild and are quite used to people.

Pintail with Avocet in the background

Avocet

A White Stork gathering nesting material

Swallows in sunlight

Grey Heron

Oystercatcher

More White Storks

Here's one that mrs bob took on the compact - they have given this building over to the Storks, I guess much of Europe looked lkike this at one time(-:).

Willow warbler?

Pair of Blackcap

A Buzzard in the trees on the walk from the reserve to the seashore.

We didn't stay long on the seafront as the wind had really come up - we hadn't really felt it in the reserve bcause of the shelter provided by all those beautiful Pine trees.

Stopped at the lagoon where we had seen the Avocet on the way in to the reserve for a last check.

Are these Greenshank?

What look to me like Yellow and White Wagtail.

Gulls, Lapwing and Redshank all in a row facing into the gale - note the Lapwing's plume(-:)

A Little Ringed Plover if I'm not mistaken.

Time to leave and mrs bob had choice of dining venue as her reward(-:).

Cheers,

Bob

Photos from Lisbon ( part four )

Galatas — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 19:47:19 GMT

Fourth and final part ( I think ) are a couple of non-native species.

Waxbills

Heading for his nest site.

These are Crested Mynahs. Each evening just as the sun disappears below the horizon they come into the town centre to roost in the park. The light fades rapidly once the sun sets so you'll have to excuse the poor quality. The only time we saw them in full daylight we couldn't get near them.

EDIT. I forgot these two shots of a Jay in the earlier posts so I'll stick 'em on here.

Photos from Lisbon ( part three )

Galatas — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 19:34:18 GMT

The area around Lisbon takes in two large river estuaries. We expected to see lots of waders but didn't see very many at all. Those we did see were a long way off as much of the coastline is inaccessible to the public.

Curlew

Grey Plover

Sandpiper

Sanderlings

Turnstones

Raptors were also few and far between compared to southern Portugal. A few Buzzards and Red Kites but little else.

I think this Kite had a lizard of some sort.

A brief glimpse of what I think is a Marsh Harrier

A lifetime tick for me. A Black-shouldered Kite. We were driving down a country lane when I saw what appeared to be a white Kestrel hovering. We slammed the brakes on and backed up but it already flown to some nearby power lines. We waited for ages for it to quarter the field again but it disappeared into the distance.

Photos from Lisbon ( part two )

Galatas — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 19:10:25 GMT

Stonechats were fairly common

Only saw one Woodchat Shrike

Great Grey Shrike

Corn Buntings were plentiful

White Storks nest on the power lines and tall chimneys

.... and occasionally on the motorway signs.

Pied Wagtail

Crow in a cork oak tree

Kestrel

Black Redstart

Crested Lark

Sparrows of course

Cattle Egret

Photos from Lisbon ( part one )

Galatas — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 18:54:18 GMT

I'm back from my trip to Portugal. The weather was glorious , seven days of blue skies and sunshine with the temperature reaching 25 degress by mid afternoon. Sadly the birding was a little disappointing compared to my previous trips to southern Portugal. The number of species seen was much less than we anticipated nevertheless there were some highlights and lots of photos taken.

Lots of Bee eaters around.

Swifts galore screaming across the sky especially over the town centre where they nest on the tall buildings.

Barn Swallows

Red-rumped Swallows too

A beakful of mud for the nest.

Hiouse Martins also busy at the nest

Kefalonia, Greece, April 13-16 2013

Stuart Vine — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 12:00:05 GMT

While emphatically not a birding trip (just a 3 day break to get away from the cold), the binoculars and cameras naturally squirrelled themselves away in our rucksacks. We stayed in the small town of Agia Efimia, in an apartment with a good view over the harbour (exclusively Yellow Legged Gulls and Common Sandpipers).

Agia Efimia (spelling varies - this is Greece)

The common birds around the town were singing and nest building like crazy, hundreds of Swallows and House Martins, very loud Chaffinches and Blackbirds. I had never really realised just how vocal Swallows could be. My favourite nest was being built on top of the security camera in the porch of the supermarket.

Singing Chaffinch

Swallows (loud)

One of the highlights of Kefalonia is Mount Ainos (1,628 metres) - part of a National Park of the the same name. We completely failed to see the black woodpeckers that are meant to live here (or for that matter, the wild horses). We did see a very nice Peregrine, a Wheatear doing sentry duty and a couple of Sombre Tits (a lifer at last).

Wheatear

Sombre Tit

There was one location I'd read about as being something a little special, the marsh at the top of the lagoon between Argostoli and Lixouri (named by another UK birder as the Livadi Marshes).

There's a convenient dirt track that goes most of the way around the marsh (I'd say all the way, but we stopped before we got to the quarry) and you can park at the start of the track - just don't block it. We only spent an hour there, so we certainly didn't see all we could have done, and there was plenty out of binocular and camera reach, but it was still profitable and enjoyable.

There were 50+ Little Egrets on the marsh and 20+ Black Winged Stilts.

Little Egrets

Black Winged Stilts

The stilts took grave exception to a female Marsh Harrier when it flew over them, flying up to send it on its way. Three Buzzards were also cruising around the area.

I was very happy to see a couple of very dapper Woodchat Shrikes, another lifer (yep, the photo is a bit rubbish, but I can't resist posting it!)

Woodchat Shrike

There were a good number of very elusive birds in the area, mostly warblers of various (unidentifiable) kinds, but also a nice Pied Flycatcher (we don't get many of these in Surrey) and a couple of juveniles which happily posed for pictures, but those are going to be posted in the "can you identify this" forum, because I sure as hell can't.

As a finale we were returning to the car and Erica startled a very, very, large bird perched on a tree stump at the edge of the pine trees. It flew out into the marsh and perched on a tree stump a very long way away. Given its large size and appearance I'd say it was an Imperial Eagle - annoyingly it landed too far away to get a half decent photo.

Livadi Marshes

While I don't think Kefalonia will ever be a major birding destination, it is a lovely island filled with nice people and a few good birds. We'll have to go back for longer and explore the rest of the island's habitats and see what else we can find.

Trinidad and Tobago

Bob Philpott — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 14:27:43 GMT

Trinidad and Tobago - one country, 2 islands - 2 islands, 2 cultures. Trinidad is busy, hectic, people wandering everywhere and lots of potholes. Tobago is quiet, laid back and peaceful with no potholes.

For years we have spoken to the people on the Trinidad and Tobago stand at the bird fair. We have just had our 40th wedding anniversary and decided to splash out on a visit there. Sally is not a birdwatcher so we needed a mixture of birds, culture and leisure and this trip covered all that. Booking through MotMot Travel we settled on 5 days at the Asa Wright nature centre, 2 days at Grande Riviere for Turtles and 7 days on Tobago with a few trips added in. I met a lot of interesting people on this trip all doing basically the same thing - British, Americans, Scandinavian and even a member of the House of Lords.

I have hundreds of photos of hummingbirds and honeycreepers, some on feeders, some with bits missing and some with the bird having disappeared by the time I pressed the button. I might publish some of those another time but will concentrate here on what must be regarded as the 'signature' birds of these places. There has recently been a discussion on here about bridge cameras; for those interested all my photos were taken on a Canon SX50 which I bought to avoid taking the DSLR abroad.

The Asa Wright Centre is a charitable trust set up to protect part of the rainforest in what was previously a coffee plantation. Famous for the feeders around the veranda it has a lot to offer on the trails around the forest. Superb guides are available to take you around the site and out into Trinidad, including to the Scarlet ibis at Caroni swamp.

The main birding claim at AW must the most accessible oilbird site in the world. These are night flying birds which feed on palm nut oil. Nightjar like in appearance I have never seen anything like these.

They are found in one cave on the site.

You cannot help but hear Bearded Bellbirds as you walk around and these were calling well while we were there. High up in the canopy they were surprisingly difficult to spot despite being the size of a small chicken.

Other obvious birdlife included Trogons and Mannakins with Ant Shrikes scuttling in the undergrowth.

The below photos show, in order, Green Backed Trogon, Guanian Trogon (prev. Violaceous) and Barred Ant Shrike male. The differences in the 2 Trogons is not obvious but note the tail markings and eye colour.

After Asa Wright we moved on to a hotel on the beach at Grande Riviere. The beach here is closed at night to allow the turtles to lay eggs. Access is permitted with a guide and red light and we were shown 12 turtles within as many yards. That night over 200 Turtles came ashore. Sometimes a young turtle will get confused and try to lay in daylight. Good for photography but not for the Turtle and they do get disorientated. Sally found herself helping the locals with one of these, digging a hole to help her bury eggs and redirecting her so she could find her way back to sea (she has never stopped smiling since - that is my wife not the turtle).

The other claim to fame at Grande Riviere is that it is the main site to see Trinidad Piping Guan. With the help of a local guide that was achieved.

The Guan (local name Powee) looks as though its piping call should sound like a turkey but in fact it is a high pitched but quiet Peepeepee which does travel a long way.

Our final stop was at Blue Waters Inn on Tobago where we had booked a rather famous local guide for 3 trips. Newton George is a character but certainly knows his birds. Of the 3 trips the shortest but the one I looked forward to most was a boat trip to the island of Little Tobago where Boobies, Noddy Terns and Red Billed Tropic Birds breed. The Tropic Birds are harassed by Frigate Birds every time they come to land.

It took me a long time but managed a few reasonable photos of Tropic Birds which fly past a quite a rate.

Despite being the featured bird of Trinidad the Trinidad MotMot is best found on Tobago.

Finally just to keep Sally happy I must include a couple of woodpeckers. The Red Crowned is a small and quite common bird but is quite photogenic.

Below are a male and female

I can never cover how good this holiday was in a short article. This was paradise in more ways than one.

Italy

BirdFeederUK — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 08:48:30 GMT

Hi guys, i'm off to Italy, Sorrento on Monday and cannot wait. Are there any nice birds I should look out for over there that we would not normally see back home?

Photos from Portugal

KatTai — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 16:28:25 GMT

Was back in Portugal last month and saw a few new species including a cetti's warbler...which unfortunately the cameras memory card messed up and that along with a number of other photos were lost :( But here are a few others I got :)

Finally got an azure winged magpie to sit for a photo!

Black winged kite (taken through the front window of the car)

Blue rock thrush - these were one I wanted to see, thought it was a blackbird at first but as something didn't seem to be quite right I took a few photos and was later able to confirm I had a new bird to add to my list!

Moorish Gecko

Zitting Cisticola...name sounds like a dodgy drink but this was another new species!

My personal favourite photo (thanks for the correction in ID Aiki - sanderling!)

Spring migration at Point Pelee Canada May 2013

seymouraves — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 08:00:28 GMT

Hi-

making a return trip here to PP - haven't been since 1986. Better bins, better scope, better car this time , hope there'll be better birds. It's such a hot spot now that you need to book 6 months in advance to get a hotel room and if the wind is right you need to be in the car park before 0600.

Last time we slept IN the car in the car park when we arrived- trying to be more comfy this time ! Staying at the same place all the time and exploring in all directions. Also there is now a decent 'where to watch' guide to the area so we will save time and miles.

South Africa

JK — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 15:32:01 GMT

Just got back from sunny South Africa for family New Year with friends. In between being sociable and entertaining children managed to get my binoculars out. What a birding paradise this country is!

I'm going to have to go back for longer, preferably after saving up enough money for a longer lens than I presently possess (and gaining more biridng/photography experience). In the meantime the following birds were good enough to stay still for long enough for me to have a stab at photographing them. (Saw other breeds too but failed to get shots). They're all fairly common out there but they looked pretty exotic to a London based beginner birder. (Incidentally these are my amateur identifications -if anyone knows better fell free to correct me):

From Kruger area:

Gray go-away bird

Laughing dove

Blackeyed bulbul?

Blacksmith lapwing

Ibis

Lesser striped swallow

Red-billed hornbill

I'm open to suggestions - Thickknee?

Lesser masked weaver bird

From Cape Town area:

Even I can confidently identify African (Jackass) penguins on Boulders Beach!

Cape Cormorant

Cape sugarbird

Rock kestrel

Bully canary

Glossy ibis

Sacred ibis

Cape Rock thrush - female

Cape rock thrush -male

Orange breasted sunbird - male

orange breasted sunbird? -female

Lesser double-collared sunbird?

And of course it's not just birds. ..

And my children thought the rock dassies were sweet...

So if an amateur like me can spot all that in just a short time what bounties await those of you who know what they're doing. If you haven't been already get out there and happy birdng.

Lisbon , Portugal.

Galatas — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 19:38:53 GMT

My birding pal and I have just booked our flights to Lisbon for mid April 2013. We've done Faro / Monte Gardo / Donana areas in previous years and want to look somewhere new. We've already gathered lots of information off the internet but if anyone has any personal experience or recommendations to pass on we'd be very grateful. We'll be based at Setubal outside Lisbon. TIA

Trip Report: Ethiopia Endemics - November, 2012.

GrahamC — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 21:05:16 GMT

Ethiopia Endemics Tour - November 2012

This is quite a long report - apologies!

Weather:
Very hot and humid, rain at times, cloudy in places.

Wildlife seen:
Over 250 bird species, including many endemics plus reptiles, mammals, insects, flowers etc. Full list on demand.

Places visited:
Debre Libanos Gorge, the Sululta Plains, the Rift Valley Lakes, Wondo Guenet and the Bale Mountains.

Highlights:
The Rift Valley including the main lakes; the Bale Mountains and Lake Awassa.

'Ethiopia didn't just blow my mind; it opened my mind. On our last day at this orphanage a man handed me his baby and said, 'Would you take my son with you?' He knew, in Ireland, that his son would live, and that in Ethiopia, his son would die.' Bono

'It is much easier to show compassion to animals. They are never wicked.' Haile Selassie

Ethiopia is a fascinating and welcoming country. The climate is warm and comfortable all year round and the bird life is exceptional. The scenery is stunning; there are masses of lakes surrounded by mountainous peaks, dusty valleys dotted with acacia trees and pretty little thatched huts surrounding well kept villages. The people of this country are friendly, inquisitive, proud and happy and for the most part self sufficient. Ethiopia provides its own power (from the many lakes), grows its own crops and keeps very many cattle. The pretty traditionally robed ponies and their riders seen along the moorlands, plus donkeys carrying their mixed cargo all round the country, provide an interesting cultural backdrop. There is no shortage of culture and history here and is a must-see country.

I couldn't believe it. Here I was, again sitting on a coach, again outside the same polytechnic in Hatfield that I had found myself this time last year. Only this time I was returning from Ethiopia and not Central America. And, more importantly, it was just after midday and not midnight.

Ten days earlier I had headed out to Addis Ababa, via Stansted and Heathrow Airports and, after a 16 hour, eventful (don’t ask) journey, found myself going through the usual checks at Addis. This in itself was quite an experience. Queuing up to purchase a $20 entry visa took over an hour; queuing up to go through Customs took over an hour. So I was very relieved to retrieve my holdall from the revolving baggage reclaim area after all that queuing.

I headed out in to the arrivals hall, thinking that my contact had long since given up, taking the rest of the party to the hotel, to find that I was only the 4^th person out and that others were still trapped inside!

After all the introductions I waited for the rest of the party to filter out. This in fact took another 2 hours and we didn't find out until later in the day that a couple had cancelled much earlier in the week.

So what did we do meantime? Well, of course being Birders we stepped outside and started doing some birding. And very fruitful it was too, getting some good photos in the process. Lots of Yellow-billed Kites, which proved to be the most common bird around; Black Kites; White-collared Pigeons and a few Common Fiscals. I soon became aware that there were a lot of species here that I had never even heard of, let alone seen. And there were some fantastically sounding names.

Juvenile Common Fiscal and a Tacazze Sunbird:

We had only been in the country for an hour or so but I was already feeling warm, a little overdressed after leaving the cold weather in London and so I removed my fleece. And it was still early morning. The skies were an amazing shade of blue with a few contrails zigzagging the sky around us, looking like jagged scars, with loads and loads of raptors flying in between. We could see Addis in the distance, early morning smog already covering the city.

Eventually, our Tour Guide gave up waiting and we drove to our first hotel, the Ghion, arriving after just 30 minutes or so. That journey in itself was amazing fun, seeing the hub-bub of Addis life, so many people going about their usual daily rituals. The cacophony of noise was sometimes deafening and it was with some surprise that I found that Ethiopia has more people than the UK and Addis itself has around 4 million inhabitants. The highest city in Africa, it’s located 8,000 feet above sea level. The range of different colours everywhere, not only the clothes but the buildings, was amazing.

At the hotel we dumped our bags and prepared for our first excursion, no wasting time here when there is serious birding to be done. I noticed that my room had not been made up and the shower didn’t work, which didn’t much matter as there was no hot water. Welcome to Ethiopia.

We met up again in reception 30 minutes later and went for a walk around the grounds spotting some great birds, including Tacazze Sunbirds; Montane White-eye and Abyssinian Slaty Flycatcher. Then we drove a little ways north to visit the Gafersa Reservoir, a magnificent habitat where a range of bush and wetland species were seen. Here were Spur-winged Lapwing; Wattled Ibis and then a magnificent African Fish Eagle swooped down and scattered everything, landing on a carcass.

Abyssinian Slaty-flycatcher and an African Fish Eagle:

We made several stops on the drive to and from the Reservoir spotting many birds, some on our endemic target list. The land stretched out before us as we covered mile after mile from the comfort of our air-conditioned coach. Well, when I say ‘air-conditioned’ it meant opening the windows.

We passed lots of the locals, herding their goats and sheep and cattle. Children sitting idly nearby as we drove past saw us and waved excitedly. Their smiles were infectious. I was already starting to enjoy the trip and I had been here less than a day. Our first day yielded an amazing 70+ species.

The day ended with an evening meal in a nearby restaurant, taking in some local delicacies. Including the local hooch. It was about now that the party could draw breath and we all made our introductions. I was quite amazed that, having made the journey all the way here, I was birding with 5 other guys from Hertfordshire! Small world. I managed to get to bed just before 11, totally exhausted.

We were up at 5.15 the next morning for a 6 o’clock start. This proved to be the norm for the rest of the trip. A choice of cold or cold shower soon woke me up and, after a quick breakfast, very soon we were again on the road. Today we visited the Sululta Plains and the Debre Libanos Gorge. Among the exotically named birds we saw today were the Blue-winged Goose; Yellow-billed Duck; Lammergeier; Ruppell’s Vulture; Kittlitz’s Plover; White-cheeked Turaco; Pied Kingfisher and Hemprich’s Hornbill. And many, many others, Plus we saw a troop of Gelada Baboons walking menacingly by a troop of Olive Baboons. Fight? Not today, as I guess it was too hot even for the baboons.

I was already starting to fret about trying to remember all the birds we had already seen but I was with a group of people who not only knew their birds but also their Latin names too! The only ones I recognised were Common Sandpiper; Redshank etc. so I kept quiet and stayed at the back. I recognised a group of Pros when I saw them! Some of them even had personal voice recorders.

It was another long, exhausting but satisfying day and we got back to the hotel at Addis just after 6. There were two things then that cheered me no end - I managed to change up some money to the local currency, the Birr - with no card problems this time, as opposed to last year in CA. AND I had hot water in my room! Woo-hoo, a hot shower!

Dinner in the hotel followed and here I can give you a little taste of Ethiopian life. One of the guys had ordered tomato soup for starters, with bread and he then requested some butter. The young waitress smiled at him, gave a nod and a little curtsey and wandered off. He duly waited for his butter while the rest of us tucked in to our starters. Then our main course arrived and then the coffees were ordered. Meanwhile, our man had a face like a bulldog chewing a wasp but ate his meal and, just as we were retiring to the Bar for the day’s bird check, the young waitress turned up, curtsied again and presented him with a little plate with some knobs of butter on it. Cue a range of looks around the table, a few laughs and a chorus of ‘Welcome to Ethiopia!’....

Another early start again next day. No let-up here when there’s light and serious birding to be done! Today we drove south down the Rift Valley, taking in visits to Lakes Koka and Ziway, where the water birds were exceptional and Lake Abiata, a shallow and saline area containing hundreds, perhaps thousands of Flamingo. The bird species being spotted were endless and I was already starting to lose count again. But I was managing to take quite a few photos, hopefully being able to ID them back home. Other than birds today we saw Gazelle; Ostrich and even a road kill Spotted Hyena!

Mountain Nyala and an Acacia Tree:

The scenery down in the Rift was amazing and magnificent. The wildlife programmes on the TV just don’t, or couldn't, do it justice enough. You really had to be here to see it. One moment you were passing field after field of crops, then you were passing lands that just seemed to stretch on and on. And at the furthest field of view the blue of the sky married up to the green of the land, with mountains just visible beyond.

We got to our 2^nd hotel in the dark just before 7. This hotel was once the favourite home of Haile Selassie’s daughter. The garden had jacarandas, roses, amaryllis and bougainvillea providing not only abundant colour but a home for sunbirds, woodpeckers and Silvery-cheeked Hornbills. The room was very nice, with a working shower plus hot water. But it took a few minutes to work out the toilet system - no cover on the cistern and a piece of string for the flush. I mentioned this to one of the other guys and he said ‘String! You must be in the penthouse suite - we've got no string!’

Another good meal here, at the hotel, and another anecdote. Some of the guys had ordered steak with the trimmings. But the last guy only got the steak. The trimmings had run out. He asked the Manager over to enquire if any more chips (French Fries here), were to be made. He smiled, shrugged his shoulders and said he would find out. As everyone else had finished dinner our man ate his trimming-less steak and we then had our fruit salad and coffee. Of course, just as we broke for beers and bird-checks our man’s chips turned up!

We were up early next morning, yet again, just before dark and whilst waiting for everyone else to turn up we spotted Vervet and Gervet Monkeys in the trees around us plus a few Black and White Colobus monkeys. A quick, pre-brekkers, walk by the stream in the nearby Wondo Guenet Forest afforded views of Black-headed Forest Oriole and Yellow-fronted Parrot. Plus a large local family group bathing in the adjoining warm springs. No shyness out here. I declined their kind invitation to join them and mentioned that I preferred cold showers. Well, I am British and I do have an upper lip to keep stiff.

It was particularly hot today and I was struggling to keep up with the pace already. We were given a few hours off after lunch, because of the hot sun and I made the mistake of lying down and promptly fell asleep. I woke up about an hour later feeling too groggy for the late afternoon walk. A good decision as it turned out as nothing new was seen.

An African Pygmy Kingfisher and a Malachite Kingfisher:

But I did spend a quiet hour walking around the magnificent grounds of the hotel spotting the odd bird, which of course I didn’t recognise. I sat down in the cool of the shade and read from one of the local English papers. The country’s President, Meles Zenawi, who ruled Ethiopia for 21 years, had died recently in a hospital abroad after weeks of speculation about his health. He was only 57. It was thought that the trip would be in jeopardy as there were fears of civil war. Fortunately, the transition was relatively painless and here we were.

We checked out of the hotel next morning and made the long, dusty drive to the Bale Mountains. On the road we passed an accident that had killed 7 cows and a goat. Which were already being feasted on by dozens of vultures, just like on the telly! Although it was fascinating for us our local guide, Elias, said that the owner of the cattle would now be all the poorer for the loss.

The views across the Valley were quite spectacular, with both sides of the Rift to be seen. We managed to see Warthog and Mountain Nyala along the way and even a Hippo in a nearby lagoon. Plus, of course, more stops for birding. But the views as we drove up and up, around and around the mountains, getting higher and higher, were simply breathtaking.

We finally arrived at our third hotel - the Goba Wabe Shebelle Hotel, our base for the next two nights. And another story. There was trouble with the check-in. Apparently, the Manager had let our rooms for the first night because people already in them wanted to stay an extra night. Our tour guide leader argued and bartered but those of us who had booked single rooms had to double up. I bunked down with the TGL, which wasn't too bad. Apart from his snoring!

So far I had experienced magnificent scenery, wonderful, friendly people and some truly beautiful and bizarrely named birds. I had tried the local produce, cuisine and beer and laughed at some of the bizarre travel experiences we encountered. So it was only fair that I also experience the local Montezuma’s Revenge. Some of you may know that I travel with half of Boot’s the Chemist in my bag. Just in case. Well, you can’t legislate for everything. One of the guys managed to catch some bug early on and had been very generous in passing it down the line to everyone else. A different day, a different revenge on a different person. Today was my day. By now I was getting used to various country revenge’s and it only affected me for half the day. Well, I wouldn't be getting the complete experience, would I?

An African Emerald Cuckoo and an Ethiopian Bee-Eater:

Anyway, as I have just mentioned the locals I should state here that another quirk of the country are the children. We could have been in the middle of nowhere, with no one around and, stopping to get the scopes out for another bird on a wire, suddenly, out of thin air, dozens of children would appear. Most of them didn't say much, they just stood and watched us. They were giving us that ‘more looney Brits on tour’ look. When we were in and around the large townships, poverty wasn't too obvious. But out in the sticks it was much more apparent. I won’t go into too much detail but it was quite heart-warming to see the look of joy on their faces as we handed out things like pens; notepads; clothes etc. Little boys and girls would dance up the track waving a biro in the air, treating it like bringing home the FA Cup. I guess it brings everything into perspective.

The Bale Mountains are between 9,500 and 14,000ft high and I was glad I had brought a fleece with me! They are a mixture of green, spacious rocky peaks and crags, numerous small lakes, extensive heathland, magnificent cloud forests and bogs. Virtually uninhabited, they are entirely unspoilt and have been rightly set aside as a National Park. Here can be found Mountain Nyala and Ethiopian Wolf, together with sights such as Golden Eagle; Rouget’s Rail; the rare and hardly known Spot-breasted Plover; Chestnut-naped Francolins and Abyssinian Long-claws. On the open moorland plateau extensive grasslands and the weird spikes of primeval-looking Giant Lobelias and Red-hot Pokers provided a wonderful Afro-alpine habitat.

And, unfortunately, because of the Revenge, I missed quite a lot of it! But I did get the Rail and the Plover!

A Spot-breasted Plover and a Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu:

By the time we got back to the hotel I was feeling a lot better. Only to find that all my stuff had vanished from my room. It was agreed earlier that the TGL would move out into another room and that I would stay put. But that’s not how they do things in Ethiopia. After about 30 minutes of banter with the Manager I found my stuff had been moved to another room. Minus a few things - travel clock, shoes etc. I was past caring at that point and just went with the flow. About an hour later the TGL knocked on my door with my missing items, small mercies!

I had decided to give dinner a miss and have an early night to catch up on lost energy. About an hour later the TGL called again to let me know about the next day’s itinerary. As the Group were splitting up, with some heading further south for the extension and the rest of us heading north back to Addis, he wanted the tips for the locals. I suspected he had picked a good time to ask, as I was very generous, in an effort to get back to bed.

The next day I felt totally refreshed and even had some breakfast. Cold porridge, cold toast and warm coffee. And something that looked like orange juice but was very glutinous with a very strange taste. We bade our farewells to the intrepid group taking the 5-day extension with me making a mental note, congratulating myself on not choosing it. Then, after checking out, four of us, together with the local guide, Elias, and the driver, headed north. It was a four-hour journey to our 4^th hotel, the Wabe Shabelle Hotel, the best one yet. The room was spacious, the shower worked, the water was warm and we had mosquito netting on the big double beds! I say hotels, but they were probably more akin to Lodges. They were just places to stow your gear and get your head down. And it did give you a real sense of being in an African country, with all the pre-requisite sounds drifting in from the dark of the night.

We had lunch immediately, with me being adventurous and ordering tomato soup. Bread was provided but I didn't bother asking for butter. The birding hadn't stopped, with the guys using their Bins in between mouthfuls and idly shouting out birds. I did find the trip a little too intensive and my mind boggled at the numbers and names of all the wildlife here. I was glad we had a check-list!

A White-bellied Go Away Bird and a Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird:

The rest of the day was spent visiting Lake Awassa, a beautiful freshwater lake, set amongst hills and a luxuriant vegetation. Amongst the lilies and great reedbeds we found herons and egrets; Marabou Stork; Hamerkops; Hadeda Ibis and more Kingfishers. And more kids. One even called me Elizabeth and asked if I had a dollar! I was just glad he spoke English as my Amharic was not up to scratch.

It was a fairly easy day today and we also got back to the hotel early, had an early dinner and an early night.

We had breakfast the next day at a leisurely 7am. But this was after an hour’s walk around the hotel grounds beforehand. And before that I discovered that the area had suffered a power cut. It was a warm but dark shower that morning. Luckily I had a torch with me. I can tell you it was no mean feat putting on my usual sun screen and Deet in the semi-dark! And I can count myself fortunate to state that I didn't receive one single bite on the whole trip. And I was the only one to not bring any malaria tablets with me. Well, firstly, I always have a bad reaction to them and secondly, my local doctor stated that they weren't necessary for where we were going.

We headed north back to Addis, along highways that seemed to stretch on forever, again making a few stops on the way. This included barging in on a wedding reception to get to the only decent birding in the area. We did pass on our congratulations and did get offers of some drinks but as we weren't properly dressed - camo gear and walking boots; bins and scopes, compared to suits and crinoline - we made our apologies and moved on through. You should have seen some of the looks we got!

Around 5-ish we got to the outskirts of Addis to find a massive traffic jam which didn't surprise the Brits but perplexed the guide and the driver. We didn't get to the hotel until just before 8. We had a couple of rooms there in which to change; repack our gear; have dinner before we drove out to the airport.

We gave a hearty goodbye to Elias and the driver, who was magnificent, considering he was continually being shouted at to stop and switch the engine off during the whole journey! I gave them the rest of the stuff I had brought out with me, including a couple of Galapagos t-shirts. My luggage was now considerably lighter than at the beginning of the trip.

A Northern Carmine Bee-eater and a Red-billed Firefinch:

Then we made the tortuous journey through Customs and Baggage check. There was just time to use up the rest of my local currency to purchase a couple of fridge magnets and a couple of beers. For the flight of course. And the four of us sat down and did one last bird check.

The 7 and a half hour journey back to Heathrow was uneventful, no screaming kids this time and I even managed an hour or two’s sleep. I was so exhausted I could have slept on a clothes line. I even enjoyed the last 30 minutes of ‘Ice Age4’.

We touched down at Heathrow an hour early and, to my amazement, I got through Customs and retrieved my baggage inside 30 minutes! That was some improvement on last year!

I said my goodbyes to the guys and made my way to the coach station and, getting the 9.15 to Stansted, found myself sat outside the Hatfield Polytechnic again. Nothing had changed much. I nearly fell asleep on the coach, nearly ending up in Cambridge. A short wait for the train home, via Bishop’s Stortford, arriving just before midday.

A very interesting trip, apart from the Revenge and the intensity, but I would definitely recommend it. More photos can be found HERE and HERE.

I hope I have given you a flavour of Ethiopia and the Rift Valley and that you enjoyed reading my report and seeing the photos. And weren't too bored with it all!

Ornithological parks in France

FOFOF — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 09:26:08 GMT

Two bird reserves to be recommended in France.

1) The Bay de la Somme and the 'Parc Ornithologique de Marquenterre'. Within an hours drive from Calais, the bay itself is very interesting from both sides: St Valery and Le Crotoy. At low tide,especialy at Le Crotoy one can walk right out onto the flats, but this is recommended only for those who know the area, otherwise with a local guide. Many types of waders can be seen. Just north of the bay is Marquenterre, a very well managed bird reserve. There are three footpaths through the reserve, of 2, 4 and 6 Kms. The shorter ones only take one to several marshy areas and lakes where many wildfowl can be seen, there are 12 hides along the route which are excellent: but, however powerful your lenses are you always need something more! The longer walk takes one closer to the shoreline where waders will be found. The paths are good but can get a bit muddy in places, so good footware is advisable.

Website: www.parcmarquenterre.com

Just outside St Valery is the 'Maison des Oiseaux', this is a museum showing many of the birds seen locally, as taxidermy specimens, whatever one thinks of this idea (I have reservations about it myself) the displays are magnificent, showing the birds in their natural habitat, though in unlikely groupings. They do however give a good, closeup view of each species and the novice, especially, can get an appreciation of the difference in sizes.

Outside the building is a small area with lake housing a variety of wildfowl which are fairly tame and can be seen in close-up with the naked eye.

2) Further south, on the bay of Arcachon, south of Bordeauw, is the 'Parc Ornithologique du Teich' . This is very much like 'Slimbridge' with a good visitor reception and paths that cater for the general tourist as well as dedicated birders, of course with hides suitably located. A small group of storks are resident close to the entrance. This area is a focus point for migations, north in spring and south in autumn, especially for common cranes.

Website: www.parc-ornithologique-du-teich.com

Travelling to and staying at Cape May

Ornquest — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 18:33:58 GMT

Hi. I'm seriously looking towards visiting Cape May next autumn for a month , i.e. 2013 ( the benefit of being retired after 20 years with RSPB!! ). Have you any advice , tips etc on travel arrangements, accomodation and eating establishments in the area? many thanks. By all means reply offline if you wish to john Armitage ( jsa@ornquest.plus.com )

again, many thanks, John.

Lake Como/ Italy

Toadflax — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 18:34:34 GMT

Hi everyone, I'm trying to plan a getaway with Mr TF next summer, possibly to Italy, I am drawn to Lake Como, it looks so beautiful. I would love to incorporate some bird watching into the holiday, along with visiting gardens and eating lovely Italian food, but I really have no idea what I am likely to see in the area. I've googled birdwatching in Italy, but not come up with too much yet, then I thought, eureka, this is where the community may be able to help. If anyone knows of any top notch birding locations in Italy I would love to know. Thanks for any info/opinion.

Carolyn

Flying Birds at Cape May

seymouraves — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 09:40:24 GMT

Hi- for all you Lumix users out there- try the sports setting

Cape May Trip report

seymouraves — Sun, 30 Sep 2012 08:13:41 GMT

We flew into Newark NJ and were picked up by friend with car, loaded cool box and drove straight to CM hotel for the night.

Standard day was started at Higbee beach for fly over and drop in migrants. First day was quiet with only local indigo buntings and yellowthroats showing well. Moved on to Stone point for waders- tide wasnt great but Laughing gulls were everywhere, also Roya terns. Tricoloured herons popped up on the creeks with usual Snowy and Great Egrets. Osprey was the commonestlocal raptor as usual - sitting on any convenient pole eating fish etc.

The wetland centre near Avalon had a good 40 square yard carpark with Red winged blackbird. American Robin, Song Sparrow, House Finch etc. Also black crowned Night heron , forsters tern, belted kingfisher on the marsh boardwalk.

Nearby Cape May bird reserve ( small and local marsh with boardwalk) had Am Redstart, Carolina chickadee etc.

Drove to Kimble road and looked for migrants - found standard fare- Red eyed vireo catbird, cardinal, red breasted nuthatch, carolina wren blue grey gnatcatcher , Black and White warbler and cowbirds.

Finally made it to CM lighthouse area late afternoon and watched Pied billed grebe, Merlin , Am Redstart, Yellowthroat, American Wigeon, Green winged and Blue winged teal etc- these were the standard everyday birds here.

64 spp

Day 2

Higbee was again qiuiet - Peregrine, ruby crowned kinglet, Red eyed vireo , Bald eagle and LOADS OF MOZZIES!!!

Moved north to Cox Hall creek ( over grown ex golf course) - bit off the main CM beaten track but we knew of it and liked it.Grounded migrants were mainly in a flock near the lake- spent 90 mins working thru them- Parula- 3, Palm warbler - 20, downy wp- 3, Am redstart-10, eastern bluebird- 6, eastern kingbird, red eyed vireo, wilsons warbler-1, pine warbler-8, B&W warbler- 20, chipping sparrow 7, Blue grosbeak 3, also belted kingfisher, black duck, red bellied wp,

Moved down to CM bird obs and lighthouse area- Killdeer in carpark, american kestrel, chimney swift and northern harrier, plenty of Merlins passing over and odd Am kestrels and Sharp shins.

Finished the day at nearby Nummy's island for ( not many) waders but scored Clapper rail , Forsters Tern, and a walk down the south end of Stone hbr island ( long sandy beach) produced 7 Piping plover, Caspian Tern 6, semi-p plover, Royal Tern 10 , Ring billed gull, sanderling 100, western sand 30, Dunlin 3, Glossy Ibis 7.

Day 3- followed a similar pattern with visits up coast to Jakes landing ( Seaside sparrow- at last- my first LIFER! ) and finding Philadelphia Vireo, Nashville warbler and Alder Flycatcher.

Day 4-

Higbee produced more birds when we stood on top of the dike- Baltimore Oriole, Rose breasted grosbeak,Parula, Yellow warbler, eastern peewee,

CM lighthouse area produced Least flycatcher and 5 Merlin

CM meadow walk ( pools inside beach, obs platform, reed beds) had Pied billed grebe, merlins, Least sandpipers, 000's of Tree swallows, Blue wing teal

Nummy Island bridge at high tide produced Western Willet 5 , Marbled Godwit 1, Grey plover 30, Short billed dowitcher20, Knot 40,

Trip list reached 127

Day 5-6 followed a similar pattern and added the following spp.

Northern waterthrush, Gannet, Arctic Skua, Black throated green warbler, Cape May warbler, Red shouldered and Broad winged hawk, Northern rough-winged swallow, Ruby throated hummer, black throated blue warbler, Ruddy duck, Nighthawk, Clay colored sparrow, yelllow rumped warbler

Day 7 was the BIG DAY- NW winds dumped rain and migrants over night ( looking at theweather radar it could have been a colossal fall of migrants but instead it was just the bestpassage of the autumn so far the locals said)

We stayed at Higbee ( in the same spot) from dawn til gone 10am then worked the CM lighthouse area til lunch.

Northern flicker- 300+ Parula 100+ Red eyed vireo- 40. palm warbler- 40, cedar waxwing-60. am redstart- 20 +, B&W warbler 20 + red breasted nuthatch -20+, plus- eastern peewee Rose breasted grosbeak, blackpoll, magnolia, black throated blue,prairie, bay breasted, black throated green, blackburnian, Yellow throated and chestnut sided warblers. Scarlet tanagers, eastern kingbirds, eastern phoebe, yellow billed cuckoo, and assorted raptors including coopers hawk and merlin.

Moving to Cox hill creek we had lunch and swainsons thrush, rusty blackbird and more warblers.

Returning to CM observatory ( it's an optics and T shirt shop in disguise) we had yellow bellied sapsucker, white eyed vireo and more warblers. Dusk at the meadows gave us Pectoral and Solitary sandpiper and nighthawk.

Trip list 153

Days 8-10 were mop up days, we visited odd bits of habitat such as the local airfield for Horned lark and bumped into odd migrants like Dickcissel, Sora and old Brit birding buddies with whom we we swapped stories, got silly and quoted Monty Python- much to bemusement of nearby American tour participants .

En route back to Newark airport we emptied the cool box, re-filled the petrol tank for only the 3rd time and went to the Brigantine reserve but a problem with sluices meant the wader Nos were way down and the water levels right up.

The trip ended with 160 spp.

Estonia - trip report

TeeJay — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 14:36:11 GMT

I have recently returned from a birding trip to Estonia. At this time of year birds which have bred in the far north of Europe and the Arctic are migrating through this area to more favourable winter quarters further south. These include many thousands of ducks, geese, passerines and the elegant common cranes.

For anyone who is not familiar with Estonia the map below shows the geography and the three locations where our group stayed during the week.

Although there were masses of birds many of them were at distance and could only be viewed through a telescope. I was therefore a bit disappointed that we couldn't get closer so the photos that I did manage to get were at very long range and fairly heavily cropped.

1 Haapsalu area

Dawn view from hotel window.

Mostly Wigeon on lake in front of hotel.

First visit was to a migration watching point on the Puise peninsula. No photos but astonishing number of birds passing through. Main highlight was hundreds of Jays - never seen so many in my life. Also many Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers and masses of finches like Chaffinches, Siskins and a brief view of a White-backed Woodpecker.

The rest of our three days at Haapsalu were spent exploring the various locations around the area. I won't do a detailed itinerary but just show a few pictures of some of the wildlife.

Elk browsing on the vegetation at the edge of a wood. They are normally only seen at dusk so we were quite lucky to see this one in daylight.

At a sea watching place there were Brent Geese both swimming in the water and flying. There were many more species of course like Red-breasted Mergansers.

It was incredibly windy so passing gulls were just hanging in the air right in front of us. This was thought to be a juvenile Baltic Gull which is a sub-species of the Lesser Black-backed Gull although in Estonia they don't treat it separately.

A more familiar Black-headed Gull possibly first winter.

A little group of Sanderling and Dunlin feeding on the foreshore.

This gives you some idea of how many Common Cranes pass through this area on their way to their wintering grounds. There were so many feeding in this field that I couldn't get them all in shot. They are very nervous so it was not possible to get out of the vehicle.

A closer view of a small group.

And a family group – note the juvenile with the brownish head.

Equally large flocks of geese too – in this case Barnacle Geese. There were also flocks of other species of geese flying over including Greylag, Bean and White-fronted (so I was told) but too far away for photographs.

A rather poor photo of a Marsh Harrier.

And now a couple of dragonflies to ID.

I think this is a Southern Hawker but being a novice with these critters perhaps someone could confirm or otherwise.

And this is, I think a Darter, but not certain which one.

2 Kuressaare

This was our next location for a couple of nights. It's located on the island of Saaremaa which we had to get to by ferry.

The main objective of our stay here was to go the peninsula of Sorve which is the most south-westerly point on Estonia. Because of its location it's a hot spot for observing visible migration. Our first visit there was rather disappointing because the rain set in thus suppressing most birds from flying. We did find this very tired Crested Lark trying to recover on the beach.

Our second visit was much more productive. Early morning starts are the norm on these trips so as you can see we were there to see the sunrise on a much better morning.

I've never seen so many small birds passing overhead on my life. There was wave after wave of Chaffinches, Siskins, Goldfinches and other passerines heading south – quite astonishing to see. Apart from a good number of Sparrowhawks which were no doubt preying on the small birds I was a little disappointed that we didn't see any other raptors.

The only photos I got were these of an Eider which was loitering close to shore.

Whilst on the island we went searching for the elusive White-backed Woodpecker but had no luck. There were bears in the woods though. LOL

3 Parnu

Back to the mainland our last two days were based in the town of Parnu.

The highlight here was a visit to a bird ringing station.

They were using a Heligoland trap which is basically a large funnel made of netting. Quite difficult to describe or photograph if you've never seen one before. I hope these photos will give you an idea.

The birds eventually end up in a small cage from which they can be removed by hand for ringing.

By far the greatest number of birds being trapped were Goldcrests. I think they said that they would ring over a thousand birds in the day. As far as the Goldcrests were concerned all they were doing was sexing them, fitting an appropriate ring and releasing them. No attempt was made to take any measurements.

Other more interesting birds were measured.

Nuthatch

Willow Tit

A stroppy Lesser Spotted Woodpecker

And a Crested Tit which one of our group was allowed to hold. It made her day and she said she wasn't going to wash her hand for a week.

They also used mist nets to trap the Goldcrests. I wasn't so keen to see them suspended like this but I suppose that as long as they were not left there too long they would come to no harm.

The sheer number of Goldcrests had a attracted a couple of Hobbies and this one had caught something – clearly a small bird which could have been a Goldcrest

Our final visit was to some coastal marshes. Again, everything was very distant so I struggled to get any decent photos. We'd seen quite a lot of White-tailed Eagles during the week but this one was the only one that was in range and even then very distant.

Summary

This was my first visit to Estonia or to any of the Baltic states which got their freedom after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the nineties. They joined the European Union in 2004 and my impression is that they have made great strides with, of course, the help of EU money.

With a population of only about 1.3 million and about a third of those living in the capital Tallinn the country is one of the least densely populated in Europe. Hotel standards (or at least the ones we stayed in) were good. Roads were excellent and traffic densities low compared to the UK.

Food was good in the hotels too. Usually, on these sort of trips lunches are picnics. However, on this trip for whatever reason we ate at local establishments which often seemed to have been set up in people's homes. This was good because it gave a more authentic insight into to the food that ordinary people ate rather than hotel food. The consequence of three meals a day means that I shall now have to go on a diet to shed a few pounds which I'm sure I must have gained.

I won't say the birding was disappointing because it wasn't but you had to work hard to see some species and then it was often difficult to get close. We made several late evening visits in search of owls and woodpeckers. The only owl we managed to track down was the Pygmy Owl and my photo of it is just a fuzzy blob which I think might be appropriately entered on to the “Bad pics of fab wildlife “ thread. We only managed to track down the Grey-headed Woodpecker on the last evening and by then it was almost too dark to make out it's colours.

I think I shall take two abiding memories from this trip. The visible migration of countless small birds passing though in great numbers and seeing and hearing great skeins of magnificent Common Cranes with their evocative calls.

(Please visit the site to view this audio)

That's enough waffling from me on behalf of the Estonian tourist board, LOL. Back to some local birding now.

Autumn migration at Cape May NJ

seymouraves — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 10:46:45 GMT

I have returned after 10 days at CM and will post some reports and photos over the next few days.

CM is just south of NY city and is basicallya funnel for migrants heading south. After a NW front they actually migrate back north along the west edge of the cape. At dawn on such days birders gather at Higbee beach car park as hundreds of flickers, warblers, jays and waxwings pass through until mid-morning. Later a search of the nearby fields and migrant hot spots will turn up new birds.

The CM observatory is close to the tip near the famous lighthouse, there are various habitats in several reserves so birding the area involves little travelling on a daily basis ( I like single location trips ). As well as passerine migrants there are local breeders and waders can be found at coastal sites. Brigantine state park reserve is an hour north up the coast. Raptors are highly visible and on good days stream overhead easily visible from the hawkwatch platform by the lighthouse . CM is a safe middle class resort with old houses and no high rise blocks, good guide books and friendly local birders.

We saw about 160 spp including over 20 spp of american warblers.

Green Heron at Brigantine

Black skimmers and Forsters Terns 10 yards from sunbathers

Temminck's Stint in Jersey

JudiM — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 19:18:57 GMT

Monday 10th september, siting in a hide at St Ouen's Pond, casually gazing around and chatting to a guy next to us, I spotted a tiny bird land in the mud of the reeds, not very visible due to the height of the front reeds, but I knew I had never seen one before, the guy sitting with us, was an experienced birder and said OMG I'm off to the car for my scope. Back he comes and confirms it was a Temminck's Stint. It was a long way off and the reeds kept blowing in the wind. However I did manage to get at least an id shot. I have posted the original full frame shot so you can see just how disgiused he was. Not the best photos in the world LOL but a thrilling experience.

We went back the next day to see if I could get a better picture, and there was no room at the inn LOL But he was hiding in front reeds anyway

There's another seymour out there!!

seymouraves — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 19:53:18 GMT

I discovered that Cape May Bird Observatory has a regular bird chat post ( Bird droppings) written by Seymour Thanu-

Apparently it's Pete Dunne the CMBO director.

I shall endeavour to bump into him and have a seymour ID conference next week :)

Birding in Sardinia - any interesinbg place sto go?

bob's_retired_now — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 22:21:03 GMT

We are off to Sardinia on Wednesday for a week. This is essentialy a beach break for Mrs Bob to make up for her scarifices during my 3 weeks to the USA earluier this year. However, it would make sense to take the camera just in case(-:).

We fly into Olbia in the NorthEast and will be travelling down the east coast and based just North of Arbatax, that's about halfway down the East Coast. Is anyobne aware of any places that are "must visits" or any particular species that we should try to see?

Thanks in advance,

Bob

Germany and Austria - plenty of corvids!

Maisie — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 20:25:10 GMT

Back in June we had a few days away to Munich and Vienna, plus a day in the Alps. We did Munich and Vienna zoos but as usual spent as much time watching the native wildlife as the zoo inhabitants!

In Munich we met a lovely coot family

IMG_1915 by MaisieHexagon, on Flickr

and a gorgeous baby crow and its parent

IMG_2076 by MaisieHexagon, on Flickr

We spent some time waiting until there were no people passing to share our lunch with the crow parent. He/she would take the pieces of bread, carefully soak them in the enclosure moat

IMG_2084 by MaisieHexagon, on Flickr

then feed them to baby

IMG_2094 by MaisieHexagon, on Flickr

There were many crows in the zoo and they seemed to coexist peacefully with the residents, except for during the falconry display when a golden eagle was flown!

IMG_2204 by MaisieHexagon, on Flickr

Vienna Zoo had lots of sparrows (we shared lunch with them too)

IMG_1395 by MaisieHexagon, on Flickr

The first hooded crows we'd ever seen (Many of them have leg rings, and they're partial to a bit of wafer from a banana split)

IMG_1498 by MaisieHexagon, on Flickr

The zoo has an amazing treetop walk through the woods at the edge of the zoo. At the start of the walk we came across a pair of colourful young squirrels

IMG_1688 by MaisieHexagon, on Flickr

IMG_1694 by MaisieHexagon, on Flickr

The absolute highlight of the trip abroad was going up the Rauschberg in the Alps in search of choughs. It was CHOUGHING cold and misty up there, but the lure of the food we'd brought with us proved irresistible for the choughs and they came over to partake. They're well used to visitors and very tame to the point of flying up to take pieces from your hand.

IMG_1226 by MaisieHexagon, on Flickr

IMG_1300 by MaisieHexagon, on Flickr

IMG_1328 by MaisieHexagon, on Flickr

IMG_1312 by MaisieHexagon, on Flickr

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Maisie