Up and out birding at first light and we had the birding highlight of the trip with an incredible 7 Rollers together hunting over ploughed and wildflower fields near our accommodation! Absolutely magical experience! #Andalucia #SpainBirding
Best days birding at Jose Antonio Valverde Reserve. Absolutely surreal numbers of birds. Birding Heaven here at times didn’t know where to look. Lots of highlights seen including White headed Duck and Purple Swamphens. Amazing numbers of common migrants also which was extremely exciting to see!
Marshes at El Rocio alive in Herons, Egrets, Flamingos, Storks. Many marsh terns, hirundines hawking over the water.
Surround Mediterranean scrub excellent for shrikes, larks, hoopoe and several warbler species like Spectacled and Sardinian Warbler. Great site for Theklas Lark.
Reedbeds around Donana national park absolutely alive in Great Reed Warblers, Little Bittern, Marsh Terns , Glossy Ibis , Night Heron and Squacco Herons
Amazing birding in various habitats around El Rocio. Highlights Thekla’s Larks, Great Spotted Cuckoo, Red Rumped Swallows, Western Bonellis Warbler, Griffon Vulture, Collared Pratincole & Bonellis Eagle. Lots of Warblers, hirundines, Shrikes, Chats migrating in. Truly a Magical place!!
Epic few days so far in South Spain #CotaDonana for our honeymoon. Birding has been outstanding with many species seen including Marbled Teal, Spanish Imperial Eagle, Savi’s Warbler, Whiskered & Gull Billed Tern, Countless migrating Bee-eaters over and big passage of Storks, Herons & Raptors 🤩🤯🤩
A few images from Spring ringing in the garden this year. Has been very productive at times with nice number of Willow Warblers going through with 20 ringed over last few mornings along with plenty of Chiff and Blackcap.
Fantastic seeing the floodgates open with decent arrivals of migrants back on site. Recent visits seen big fall of Willow Warblers, Chiff, Blackcap. Good number of Swallows back now. Been a great spring for Wheatears! The first Whitethroat noted back. Nice spring passage of finches over.
Excellent day birding on Portland. Flyover SERIN at Reap Lane early afternoon, distant Ring Ouzel at Top fields highlights. Lovely seeing good passage of Wheatear, Willow Warblers & Swallows moving up West Cliffs. Several House Martin, single Whitethroat and Redstart also. A very enjoyable day out.
An absolutely wonderful day with an impressive arrival of migrants this morning. A lovely surprise seeing plenty of Willow Warblers and Blackcaps back in numbers. Single Cetti’s warbler in sallows. Flyovers of Swallow, Sand Martin, Redpolls and flock of Godwit.
What a brilliant start to our mini honeymoon here in Charmouth for Hannah and myself. Walk around patch today tons of Wheatear freshly arrived. Least 20+ in horse fields. Osprey in off the sea. Plenty of Chiffchaff & Blackcap here in full song with several Willow Warblers have returned to site.
A quiet day doing some birding on Portland for early spring migrants. Best seen a Sand Martin, Chiffs, Meadow Pipits & several pairs of Stonechats. Nice hearing Skylarks in full song. Excellent views of Fulmars off the bill. No sign of any Wheatear for us. No sign of Little Gull at Dorchester WM.
Last session for November with 67 ringed including 4 new Yellowhammer & plenty of Reed Bunting. Tristis type Chiff, 2 Firecrest best from the tit flocks. Notable number of Mipits, Stonechats & Skylarks in the Rewilding fields. Vizmig; Snipe, Lapwing & Golden Plover & mix finch flocks over.
Lovely productive mornings ringing produced nice mix of usual species for this time of year along with another Cirl Bunting. A 2nd bird also present in the rewilding fields. Several wintering Chiff, crests and a few thrushes made for enjoyable session.
Fantastic day birding on Durlston head with smashing views of two Pallas’s Warblers. One showing well in woods west of the castle and 2nd bird in sycamores towards lighthouse area mobile with tits/crest flock. Excellent vismig with Snow Bunting, Woodlark, Bramblings, Redpolls and 2 Black Redstarts.
Pallas's Warbler just trapped in the Crown Estate Field
Another busy day ringing on site 06am-3.30pm. 108 ringed & 3 controls! Control Firecrest (RCV), Chiff( RVL)+ Dutch Arnhem ringed Chiff (AVY). Outstanding vizmig over with 1000’s Woodpigeon, 100+Chaff & Thrushes. Small No of Brambling, Redpolls, Buntings
/Pipits. 3 Hawfinch & group of 5 Woodlark.
Well done Ian 👏
Super mornings ringing with a female Cirl Bunting trapped and ringed, 1st record for the site. Nice mix of Buntings, Crests and Tit flock ringed. A Pallas’s Warbler seen and heard very briefly 10am near ringing site didn’t show up in a net and no further sign, another first for here.
Sorry for the late news, ridiculously busy first couple of hours so not had time to post a photo of the Black-faced Bunting trapped in the Crown Estate Field on the first net round of the day - ta to Duncan Walbridge for this pic
Productive mornings ringing with 18 Reed bunting, 15 Lesser Redpoll and 5 Firecrest. Plenty of chiff and goldcrest still arriving. Single Ring Ouzel flushed early am setting nets. Vizmig over included Hawfinch, Brambling and 100+ Redpoll and a late Redstart seen in horse paddock
Well done Ian Congrats ! 🎉👏🥳🍻🍾
LITTLE BUNTING trapped this morning at East Fleet, nr Weymouth, Dorset. With thanks to Sarah F. for a couple of the photos. Also trapped: 2 Cetti's, 1 Reed Warbler and 1 Dartford.
A nice arrival of Goldcrest this morning with 42 ringed out of 113 ringed. Plenty of roving tit flocks around today and an increase in Robins and Thrushes. A Yellow browed W heard in non-ringable area didn’t materialise in nets. Overall a productive mid October session. Hawfinch/ROuzel vizmig over.
Thanks Luke. I’m well chuffed. I’m doing a lot of ringing on buntings at moment which has been exceptionally good this year for them so hopefully get a few more controls this winter 🤞
That would be fantastic if it is. It’s already on DEMON. AAD3590, ringed 25th Feb 25.
Another busy mornings ringing in the Rewilding Fields produced 115 ringed including 58 Chiff and 27 Reed Bunting. A nice mix of species today also included Yellowhammer, late Garden Warbler and control Reed Bunting (AAD) were the highlights of the morning. Some good vizmig over
Been a busy few days ringing on site. Todays session, 06-14:00pm, 165 ringed including 23 Reed Bunting, 20 Goldcrest and 7 Firecrest. Big fall of Chiff again ringed in good numbers. Good vizmig over with several flocks of Crossbill ( 30+), 50+ each of Redpoll & Siskin and 2 Brambling west.
Super start to October with 164 birds ringed from
The Rewilding Field nets, including 11 Reed Bunting, 8 Stonechats along with nice cast of warblers including late Gropper,Sedge, Whitethroat,15 Firecrest,12 Goldcrest & another strong passage of Chiffs. Bonus Nuthatch,Yellowhammer & retrap Kestrel.
Yellow-browed Bunting trapped, ringed and released at the Swannery. It's flown to the hedge which runs alongside the Swannery grounds and the bird may be viewable from the permissive path heading west from Grove Lane.
The last few days has seen a huge movement of Chiffchaff here in West Dorset, most birds seen moving East mid morning through to early afternoon. Today a much quieter session with 30+Chiff ringed takes me to over 200 ringed since last week. Ringing weekend so interesting to see if numbers continue….
