Just a bit of Fun Quiz Week 22 Answer Plus " New Mystery Bird "

American Robin in Devon 2010.

Indeed last weeks " Mystery Bird " was a American Robin which i saw in 2010 in Devon , i never managed a decent photo of this bird as it was always quite distant and the weather was awful ( that's my excuse and i am sticking to it ) .

American Robin St.Agnes 1998.

Here is a better photo of an American Robin that i saw in 1998 on St.Agnes .

Anyway i digress , if i was wearing a hat i would take it off to all the correct entries this week , i only expected 1 or 2 correct answers so i am very impressed with the amount of people who got it right and you are : Ellis Lucas , Matthew B , Findlay W , Chidders , Steve Ashton , Marc Heath , Martyn Wilson , Jason Ward & Mark Lewis .

Unlucky to those with the wrong answer , it was a really tricky photo , many thanks to all who had ago .

Here is this weeks " Mystery Bird " , if you fancy ago just leave your answer in the comments and remember you can have as many guesses as you like , i will reveal the correct answer and entries next weekend .

Week 23 " Mystery Bird " ?????

Good luck everybody .

Just a bit of Fun Quiz Week 21 Answer plus New " Mystery Bird "

Spoonbill at Keyhaven Marshes.

Last weeks " Mystery Bird " was indeed a Spoonbill which i saw rather distantly at Keyhaven Marshes , there were quite a few correct entries last week so a very big well done to : Ellis Lucas , Mark Lucas ( well done for spotting the Moorhen too :-) ) Matthew B,   Ben M, Chidders , Martyn Wilson and Marc Heath.

This weeks " Mystery Bird " i think will prove quite a challenge , possibly the hardest photo to id so far , so here it is :

week 22 " Mystery Bird " ???????

Good luck to everyone who has a go , remember you can have as many guesses as you like , just leave your answer in the comments and i will reveal the correct answer and entries next Sunday , its just a bit of fun and i will only publish the correct entries , many thanks for having ago .

Oare Marshes Pintail a Plenty.

Plenty of Pintail at Oare.

I have not been here for awhile so took the opportunity to spend a couple of hours looking over the East Flood this afternoon  , Plenty of Pintail , Shoveler and Teal were on the flood with lesser numbers of Gadwall and Tufted Duck.

2 males and a female Pintail.

Waders were in decent numbers both Ringed and Grey Plover were in double figures , Black Tailed Godwit and Dunlin were in 3 figures plus there was a scattering of Redshank , the fringes of the flood held approx 15 Common Snipe and a single Water Rail bolted from cover only to disappear as quickly .

There were only 2 Avocets on the flood plus approx 50 Lapwing , when these were spooked which often happens i noticed a single Knot which must of been hidden among them which proceeded to land over the far side of the flood.

Cold looking Lapwing on the East Flood.

Passerines were in small supply with only single Pied Wagtail , Meadow Pipit and a distant calling Cetti's Warbler noted . I did see 5 Common Gulls close to the road and a Little Egret flew over before landing on the west side of the road .

I will be posting last weeks quiz answer and correct entries tomorrow so you still have time to have a go if you want to .

Just a bit of Fun Quiz Week 20 Answer plus New Mystery Bird.

Osprey Nest at Rutland Water.

Last weeks "Mystery nest " was indeed a Osprey Nest which was at Rutland Water and a very big well done to Ellis Lucas ,  Chidders , Tony Morris , Phil Parker and Mark Lewis who correctly named both the nest and location.

Also a big well done to Ben M

,   Martyn Wilson and Scott . H. who all got the correct nest. 

And unlucky to those with the incorrect answer many thanks for having ago.

Here is this weeks "Mystery Bird " , as ever just leave your answer in the comments and i will reveal the answer and correct entries next Sunday .

Week 21 " Mystery Bird " ??????

Be warned next weeks " Mystery Bird " will really be a test , so good luck to everyone and thanks for having ago.

Western Orphean Warbler in Pembrokeshrire

Western Orphean Warbler. 

This has been one of my best autmns for birding in many years and i added another new bird to my life list with the superb Western Orphean Warbler which  is residing in Pembrokeshire South Wales , a pretty much uneventful journey soon had me parked up on site at approx 6.15 am , i made my way down to the house where the warbler had been seen the previous 5 days in their garden , i joined the already assembled birders and waited for the sunrise , as first light appeared there were one or two glimpses of a warbler in the nearby apple trees but nothing conclusive .

Then a birder further down the line to my right picked out the the Western Orphean Warbler on the furthest back apple tree , which was very difficult to get on in our position , however eventually we all managed to connect with this superb warbler , in an approx 3 hour period we got some really great views although i never managed a photo as rather frustratingly the bird was always behind leaves or moving around in the apple trees ,  a decent pic of its face where you can clearly see the white iris and long bill of this bird , it had a very dark crown which contrasted with the the white chin and upper breast . 

One of many Ravens at Dale airfield.

I only had time for one more location after spending quality time observing the Western Orphean Warbler and that was at Dale Airfield where we had some decent views of  9 Lapland Buntings which were a very welcome year tick for me , these were very flighty but occasionally i managed to view them feeding in the long grass . i also saw a couple of Stonechats and plenty of Ravens here.

Record shot of 8 of the Lapland Buntings in flight.

2 Lapland Buntings feeding in long grass.

A special thankyou to the residents of the house for letting us all access their garden.

There is still time to have a go on my " Just for fun Quiz " just leave your answer in comments and i will reveal answer and correct entries tomorrow. 

Just a bit of Fun Quiz Week 19 Answer plus new " Mystery Bird "

Week 19 Bird was a male Stonechat.

Last weeks Mystery bird was indeed a male Stonechat that i saw in Dorset last year , a very big well done to those with the right answer and they were :  Martyn Wilson , Ellis Lucas , Ben M , Mark Lewis ,  and Jonathan. F. 

Unlucky to those with the wrong answer , its just a bit of fun and thanks for having ago to everyone .

Here is this weeks "Mystery Nest " , yes you have read it right lol , i thought i would try something different again , all you need to tell me is what bird nests in it ??? ,  so here it is :

Week 20 " Mystery Nest " ?????

I will give you all a clue , this picture was taken in the Uk , you get a bonus mention if you can name the place it was taken .

Just leave your answers in the comments and i will reveal the answer and correct entries next Weekend 

Snow Bunting at Goring ,

Snow Bunting at Goring.

Here is a small selection of photo's of a very tame Snow Bunting that i saw at Goring.
                                                                     

I will reveal the answer of my quiz tomorrow plus a new " Mystery Bird " pic , so you still have time to try and guess last weeks bird , if you fancy a go just leave your answer in the comments .

Scilly Birding Part Two

                                      A great weeks birding on Scilly plus a Mega twitch to Porthgwarra resulted in 2 Lifers : Hermit Thrush at Porthgwarra and a White's Thrush on St.Agnes Isle's of Scilly .

Sign outside of cafe at Porthgwarra.   

Hermit Thrush.

Slightly hidden Hermit Thrush.

Hermit Thrush .

Hermit Thrush 

Another angle of the Hermit Thrush . 

Whites Thrush pic by Steve Williams.

Digi scoped pic of Whites Thrush . 

One of Black Redstarts on Porthloo Beach.

Many thanks to Steve Williams for the use of his superb White's Thrush photo.

Scilly Birding Part One

A really enjoyable weeks birding on the Isle's of Scilly with many highlights , here are a selection of photo's from the trip.

Western Subalpine Warbler on St. Marys.

Another Record shot of Western Subalpine Warbler .

Better pics to come of this bird .

Spotted Crake.

It just flicked its tail when i took this.

Hummingbird Hawk Moth.

2 Adult Med Gulls on Porthloo beach.

Male Stonechat on the Garrison.

Western Subalpine Warbler at Longstone.

Note moustachial stripe.

One of two Pallas's Warblers on St. Agnes.

All wing bars and stripes = Pallas's Warbler.

Showy Song Thrush.

In part two there are 2 Mega life ticks.

Just a Bit of Fun Quiz week 18 Answer and New Photo

 White Winged Black Tern at Minsmere.

Last weeks Mystery Bird was indeed a summer plumage White Winged Black Tern which i saw at Minsmere back in 2011 , a very big well done to Martyn Wilson , Mark L , Ben M and Ellis L for all getting the correct answer.

Unlucky to those with the wrong answer , many thanks to all who had a go , this weeks        " Mystery bird " is a bit different as i have only given you a partial view of it , if you fancy a go just leave your answer in the comments and i will reveal the correct answer next week .

Week 19 Mystery Bird ????

I have just got back from a holiday to the Isles of Scilly and will be posting the trip probably in 2 parts once i have sorted all the photos out.