Dodgy record shots of Forster's Tern in Lytchett Bay today illustrate extent of moult into breeding plum & developing red base to bill. Nonetheless whiteness of upperparts, orange-red legs & feet and long tail streamers make this bird a standout. @harbourbirds.bsky.social @ianballam.bsky.social
Forsters Tern, now in 90% breeding plumage feeding in Lytchett Bay. @harbourbirds.bsky.social
It has reached lunchtime and my timeline is inexplicably devoid of #Bluethroat photos. Good job I finally cracked and popped out to see it for the first time this morning. 🤣 Nikon Bridge performing as well as the bird in early morning light. #Dorsetbirds
Volume up! The shorebird migration at Donggang, on the border of China and North Korea, is spectacular and is now a major tourist attraction. It's easy to see why... Best times are either side of spring high tides. #eaafp #shorebirds #migration #china #northkorea
Bluethroat still present at Swineham. Was just feeding halfway along path at eastern end then flew into Reed bed area. @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @birdguides.bsky.social
1st yr Bonaparte’s Gull here in a large field with BHGs now - Briantspuddle, Dorset @birdguides.bsky.social
News has reached us of people trespassing at the Woodsford Garganey to get a better view or a better picture. This is an active working quarry & risks disturbing a rare breeding species. It also dissuades finders from releasing bird news. A lose, lose, lose situation. Please lets up our game.
@ianballam.bsky.social
Guessing they will be Little Ringed Plover Martin 👍
Yep. Use alternative on street parking on Watery Lane just west of junction with Slough Lane. 🤞👍
Nice to find this White-spotted Bluethroat at Swineham this evening feeding with 3-4 Stonechat @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @birdguides.bsky.social
📸 Ed Betteridge
Just dropped through my Dorset letterbox this morning. Great work by all involved, plenty of art to add to the excellent photos. If the web has drawn you away from County bird reports & bird clubs, have a rethink. They are an essential part of our birding communities culture 🙏
A couple of better shots of todays 1st record of Large Tortoiseshell for Lytchett Bay (these from my camera rather than my phone!!)
Occasionally you get lucky taking flight shots with a bridge camera. Just to show its not impossible..... Long staying Ad Little Gull showing well at Lytchett Bay this morning. Its a beaut. #Dorsetbirds
That is a cruel cruel blow. Well done Mick. Very tough to take and even tougher on Ian who has run the feeding station for 3+ years. Hope it's there tomorrow for him and Friday for me 😲🤞
Ad Short-tailed Albatross, we saw 45 of these beauties, recovering from near extinction. Many were close to the boat and allowed flight shots with my bridge camera.
Laysan Albatross, at least 24, along with 25 Black-footed and more than 5000 Streaked Shearwater seen on the crossing
The very attractive and island endemic male Izu Thrush
Ural Owl, having missed this in Hokkaido where the "known" roost tree has fallen down, I thought we were going to draw a blank on this desirable species. Thanks to some local gen we were able to see one in a Tokyo park!
Home after an amazing time in wonderful Japan. I said it before and I will say it again. Where did we go wrong? The last part of our trip was around Tokyo and included a trip out to the Izu Islands. A must do at this time of year for the chance of an albatross spectacular on the return ferry.
Is this the biggest ever single species count on eBird? Gobsmacking photos of an estimated 2.75M Snow Geese in North Dakota (HT @evornithology.bsky.social)
ebird.org/checklist/S2...
Stella's Sea-eagle on drift ice off Rausu. We saw more than 250 during our 2hr boat trip.
The birds roost on the drift ice when not feeding together with plenty, but fewer, White-tailed Eagles
Red-crowned Crane another Japanese conservation success story.
Blakiston's Fish Owl, this huge owl is the hardest of the Hokkaido "Big Three" to see. Booking at one or two of key hotels necessary and even then you need a bit of persistence and or luck. This bird turned up at 05:14 after a blank evening and night.
Visit to eastern Hokkaido complete. The weather and temperatures were on the whole very kind. Seeing the eagles on the drift ice is one of THE wildlife spectacles of our amazing planet. Life is very tough up here in winter so the birding was all about quality rather than quantity.
The Woodpecker Network is encouraging birders to detect Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers by using passive acoustic sound recorders:
On a dedicated boat trip with a local fisherman, now turned conservationist, we enjoyed splendid views and vocalisations of at least 14 birds. They are just returning to the neighbouring island for the breeding season.
All around the town road signs raising awareness of the "Crowned Sea-Sparrow" were proudly displayed.
The local authority have produced an informative brochure explaining their life cycle and what local people can do to protect them. Printed in both Japanese and English. Another great example of a town and its officials getting behind conservation.
And my last Kyushu post goes to another town embracing & protecting "their" iconic species. Reminded me of home & the work done by @harbourbirds.bsky.social in making Poole & Osprey two words that lie expectedly in the same sentence. Kadogawa & Japanese Murrelet. This vulnerable alcid is celebrated.
Siberian Crane, critically endangered, my first sighting since I saw the now long gone birds at Bharatpur in 1990! An adult has been here for a few weeks.
White-naped Crane, arguably one of the most attractive cranes in the world. c3000 winter in southern Japan.
Hooded Crane, the commonest crane in the area. 10000 plus around Izumi.
Sandhill Crane, primarily a North American species. A small hand full feeding among the Hooded and White-naped.
The real draw in Kyushu for a birder are the Cranes, c14,000 of them wintering around Izumi alone. 6 species were possible, we found 5. Missing the single Demoiselle that is somewhere in the feeding flocks. In addition to a single figure number of Common here are the others.....
Saunders Gull. 2cy. Range restricted, vulnerable. We saw and heard a good number in the south west.
Black-faced Spoonbill. In the 90's thought to be down to 288 individuals and critically endangered. Thanks to conservation population now thought to have recovered to more than 7000.
Baikal Teal, pic showing gorgeous plumage of male and subtle facial pattern of female. Once uncommon in Japan the species is enjoying a real boom. We saw flocks of 500 and 1000 in Kyushu and were unable to visit a lake in Honshu where 50000+ were wintering!
Lesser White-fronted Goose, a rare straggler in Kyushu.
Our time in Kyushu, Japan has come to an end. Loved it all. Nagasaki memorial 😥,Great weather and some tremendous birding.
Fab morning @careyssecretgarden.bsky.social Migration Festival Part Two
Had a chance to learn more about bird ringing with @harbourbirds.bsky.social & hear from Chris Packham & Megan McGubbin about bird slaughter in Malta & Cyprus & recent work against North Dorset Hunt
www.operationdeadair.org
Japanese Macaque, easily seen at the very well organised and pretty authentic Snow Monkey Park nr Nagano
No wonder the Bewick's Swans we were watching started to get rather excited. This Japanese Raccoon Dog surprised us al by emerging from a frozen ditch.
In the same area that we had seen the Copper Pheasants on the previous day this attractive ungulate appeared in the forest on the bank above us.
Mammals in Honshu were thin on the ground but quality was high. The Japanese Macaque (aka Snow Monkeys) might be a tourist bun fight but they are unmissable and a lot of fun. Japanese Serow and Japanese Racoon Dog were more surprising and very welcome.
Asian Rosyfinch, a species I had hoped to see in Hokkaido but was surprised to see in Nagano.
(Baikal) Bullfinch very distinctive and attractive
Daurian Redstart, one of several tasty species on British birders minds which are frequently encountered in a Japanese winter trip.
Japanese Waxwing, longer black eye liner than Bohemian. Red tail band and rusty coverts.
End of Honshu (Japan) leg, part 1. Super enjoyable. Safe, friendly, clean, efficient, respectful country. Where did we go wrong? Birding has been lovely with lots of palearctic migrants. Almost all target species seen. Copper Pheasants (no pics 😥), Crested Ibis, Japanese Waxwings chief among them.
Rolling back the years...
#UKBirding
Lovely piece Gavin. Have only visited once. In 1997 I had a meeting in London but was travelling with a colleague who wasn't a birder. He wasn't impressed when I said we had to set off at dawn to see a Wilson's Phalarope at Staines on the way. He refused to get out of the car while I twitched it 🤣
Early days in Japan & wasn't expecting so much snow so soon. Special to seen this iconic species though. Well worth the trip out to Sado. #CrestedIbis now doing incredibly well having been rescued from Japanese extinction with re-introduction project. The whole island has embraced their return.
BREAKING: A Gamekeeper has pleaded guilty in England’s first-ever Hen Harrier persecution case.
Covert video and audio gathered lawfully by the RSPB Investigations team has helped expose the deliberate targeting of a Hen Harrier, leading to a landmark guilty plea:
www.rspb.org.uk/whats-happen... 👈
There are few Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa 花脸鸭 Huāliǎn yā) wintering at the Yellow River estuary in Shandong Province. Photo by "菜小hua". #birds #china #yellowriver
