My first Whinchat of the spring this morning on West Sedgemoor, actively moving through the site with a couple of Wheatear. Yellow Wags back on territory, singing Sedge Warbler, some sun and a distinctly spring-like feel #somersetbirding
A few weeks ago we found this bittern by a roadside ditch near Langport. Over a mile from the nearest reedbed it was presumably displaced from usual habitat by the high water levels #somersetbirding
I have seen Ross's Gulls in 2002, 2014, and now 2026. Wonderful birds, and I hope the next is sooner than 2038 #rarebirdsuk
Two 1w Little Gulls with at least 40 Kittiwake off of Burnham on Sea this morning. The Kentish Plover distantly on the island on the falling tide #Somersetbirding
If an eclipse drake then it would be an adult (rather than 1cy).
They are cormorants. Tail shape a give-away, among other things. There are some juveniles in the flock with pale neck and breast, which glossy Ibis never shows
Looks like a Bobwhite - a species of partridge from North America. It will be an escape from a collection nearby.
Buff-breasted blob still at CVL this morning in the usual spot. Wood Sand, two Greenshank and Glossy Ibis in Villice bay. Two Glossy Ibis in Heron Green Bay #Avonbirds
Impressive numbers of small waders roosting at Wall Common today, with >1100 Ringed Plover and >500 Dunlin. Curlew Sand, Little Stint and a few Knot and Sanderling among them. On the land a few Wheatear (photo) and a Whinchat. Perhaps my last Swift of the year passed west overhead #somersetbirding
This is a Cirl Bunting and it has a coded ring on its right leg - you can report the details to the contact here and hopefully find out something about it's history: cr-birding.org/node/7187
The Spoonbill last week had a green alpha-numeric on the left tibia. Is it the same bird and was it too far to read?
They are Cat C (or equivalent) in some other European countries, so a candidate for C5 here if birds from those populations were to occur. However, I have no idea who/how it is decided which birds are being reported
It's a juvenile whitethroat. The gingery wings and white sides to the tail (among other features) rule out garden warbler. I can't hear a contact call on the video but Merlin has it's limitations, especially with calls
A few returning waders on the rising tide at Stert point this morning. 6 Knot, 7 Whimbrel, Sanderling and Bar-tailed godwit. Vis mig Yellow wag and Mippit #somersetbirding
The glow of Glastonbury festival clearly visible 14 miles away from RSPB Greylake last night. A few hundred sand martins at dusk and a few snipe chipping in the darkness #somersetbirding
A Desert Wheatear... on a playing field near Bristol... in June #rarebirdsUK
Your photo looks like a reed warbler to me. Long undertail coverts, relatively short primary projection, yellowish legs/feet, overall rufous plumage tones, broad brownish supercilium infront of the eye, bill colour, etc. all better suit reed warbler
An unexpected garden tick and Somerset tick this morning in the form of a Turtle Dove!
Another birding paper! 🐦 Where do the Nearctic landbirds that show up in Europe each autumn come from? We usually assume they come from NE populations, pushed off course by bad weather - but is that the whole story? #ornithology 1/3
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
1st summer Purple Heron showed well at Meare Heath early evening. Seen to pluck a Four-spotted Chaser from a stem and ate it before it dropped to the reed edge and started fishing. #somersetbirding
Light overhead passage at Stolford this morning, with 321 Wood pigeon east, plus 101 Meadow Pipit, 18 alba Wagtail, 29 LBBG, and single figures of a few others. My first swallow of the year powered through. #somersetbirding
I see birds like this every now and again, and there was one at Greylake earlier in the winter. With no other AW characters, I always assumed they are the extreme end of Wigeon variation
This looks like the same bird @bemptonbirder.bsky.social and I saw last week, and we also pressumed a hybrid. Some of Wills photos here: ebird.org/checklist/S2...
As with anything AI/automated, you just need to recognise the limitations and check anything that doesn't look right.
Where did you get it from Si? The Birdweather website doesn't seem to offer UK delivery
As well as for the highbrow and thought provoking content, I follow this account as I like to see how many of ye olde birds I can identify. This was an easy one... ebird.org/species/alpa...
Most mornings I stand in my garden with a coffee and count all the birds. In the autumn I am often treated to some light vis mig, which today included a full fat house tick in two Hawfinches south! Also my first Fieldfare of the autumn, a modest passage of redwing, and a brambling #ukbirding
My last Daurian-type Shrike was in Cambridgeshire in 2000, so this afternoon we took a short hop over the boundary to see the showy bird near Gillingham #rarebirdsuk #dorsetbirds
