Just a Bit of Fun Quiz Week 45 answer plus new " Mystery Bird "

                            Week 45 " Mystery Bird " is a Myrtle Warbler.

Indeed last weeks Mystery Bird was a Myrtle Warbler which i saw in  Durham earlier this year , well done to all the correct answers who are : Ellis Lucas , Mark L ,  Alex M , Martyn Wilson , Chidders and Mark Lewis 

Unlucky to those with the incorrect answer , many thanks to everyone who took part , here is this weeks " Mystery Bird " : 

                                                                   

Week 46 " Mystery Bird " ???????

If you fancy ago just leave your answers in the comments or DM on twitter @RobsBirding , i will reveal the correct answer and entries next Sunday , good luck.

Short-Toed Eagle ... In Dorset

Short-Toed Eagle.

News broke on Saturday 31st May of a Short-Toed Eagle in Dorset  arrangements were put into place to be on site for first light the following morning  in the hope the bird would still be there having been seen roosting in a favoured tree til at least 9.15 pm .

 Sunday morning soon came around and after an uneventful journey i arrived at Morden Bog NR at 4am where there were already a large number of cars parked up , looks like we all have the same idea , as soon as i get out of the car i could hear Nightjar " churring " fantastic start and on my walk to the promised land i could hear several more and i saw 2 birds at different points on the walk to the Eagle.

Light was still breaking on my walk and there was quite a mist , i heard info of roughly where the ST Eagle had roosted the previous night now all i needed was the light to fully lift and hope it is still there ,it was a bit concerning at times as the trees begun to appear from the darkness and mist begun to raise and blanket out the view.

Just look at that eye.

Eventually the trees were viewable and it wasn't long before the call went out , and we were all enjoying good scope views and although quite distant the most striking feature were the magnificent large yellow eyes , this stunning bird was causing the local resident birds some disturbance , Green and 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers along with Coal Tit , Blackbird and Mistle Thrush all at some point came very close to the Eagle and were clearly agitated by its presence , however several Carrion Crows did mob it every so often.

Distant front view of the Short-Toed Eagle.

I watched this bird from the hill for a good 3 hours and other birds of note from here included Hobby , Meadow Pipit , Dartford Warbler and approx 25 Med Gulls . Other birders started to wander off to try and get closer views and i did the same which proved very successful as i bumped into a local birder who showed me a great vantage point  which was far enough away as not to disturb the bird but give me some great views .

Short-toed Eagle.

I had some really stunning views of this bird and this was a fantastic bird to add to my British list , i also saw on this part of the reserve displaying Tree Pipit , Stonechat and Nuthatch , a really great birding session and after approx 5 hours i then headed off to have a well earned breakfast and cuppa , i will definitely visit this reserve again in the future.

Displaying Tree Pipit.

Coal Tit

One of many Med Gulls

Just a Bit of Fun Quiz Week 44 answer plus new " Mystery Bird "

Week 44 Ring Billed Gull and Common Gull

Last weeks " Mystery Bird " was indeed a Ring Billed Gull which i saw at Gosport in 2013 , very well done to all the correct entries who are : Ellis Lucas, Alex M ,  Ben M , Martyn Wilson , Steve Ashton , Chiddy ( Congrats on getting your 300th for Kent ) , Mike.H. and  Mark Lewis  plus all who named the Common Gull to get a bonus well done .

I seem to be either missing or not getting all the entries for some reason , if i have missed your name off the list please let me know and i will add you asap .

Unlucky to those with the incorrect answer , great try and many thanks to everyone who has taken part . Here is this weeks " Mystery Bird " :

Week 45 " Mystery Bird " ?????

As usual leave your answers in the comments or DM on twitter @RobsBirding , i will reveal the correct answer and entries when i get back from Spain on the 11th June , good luck to everyone who takes part . 

Digi Scoping at Oare .... Avocets Galore

2 Avocets.

I popped over to Oare this afternoon to do some Digi scoping using my Iphone 4s , well quite clearly i have alot of practise to do but here are some i took including the above pic.

Digi Scoped Avocets.

I did take some with my normal camera just to compare .

A little bit of Black & White.

Sorry my only pics are of Avocets , there was not alot around whilst i was there , only 2 Black Tailed Godwits , Lapwing , Redshank and Oystercatchers.

Plus there were a small selection of warblers such as Common Whitethroat , Sedge Warbler and Cetti's Warbler .

Just a Bit of Fun Quiz Week 43 answer plus new " Mystery Bird "

Mystery Bird week 43 was a Spotted Redshank.

Last weeks " Mystery Bird " was indeed a Spotted Redshank which i saw at Titchwell in Norfolk back in 2011 , well done to all the correct entries who are : Ellis Lucas ,  Martyn Wilson , Mark Lewis , Marc Heath , Dave Dowell , Mike. H. , Matthew B , Ben M, Chidders and Steve Ashton  ( sorry Steve i missed your answer ).

Unlucky to those with the incorrect answer and many thanks for all those who took part , here is this weeks " Mystery Bird " :

Week 44 " Mystery Bird " ??????

This weeks " Mystery Bird " in the above photo is the left hand bird but you get a bonus point if you can ID both , if you fancy ago just leave your answer in the comments or DM on twitter @RobsBirding ,I will reveal the correct answer and entries next weekend , good luck to everyone who takes part.

Baillon's Crake ....At Oare ....Patch Mega

Baillon's Crake showing well.

I received news this morning informing me that there is a Baillon's Crake calling and showing well on & off at Oare Marshes , so without haste i quickly got my birding gear together and headed off there , 20 mins later i was walking along the sea wall west of the car park and approaching the already assembled birders when i could hear it calling , fantastic now how long will i have to wait to see it ?? 

Best foot forward.

I spotted Murray W who found this bird and had a quick chat to get the info on its behaviour and its was not long after that i got my first glimpse of the Baillon's Crake just sitting inside of the reed bed .

Just about see it .

It was constantly calling at first and then went quiet which was the best time to see it as it then moved along the reeds showing well at times . Here are a few pics that i managed when it came right out into the open .

Baillon's Crake.

This was a very welcome patch and year tick for me , a really stunning plumage on this bird the white flecks on its mantle always make me think  its been painted with tipex ...lol , it flew across the small dyke on a couple of occasions , hopefully it will stick around for more birders to see.