Snaps of variable quality from recent birding trip to Austria, part 2 of 2. Red-throated Pipit, Collared Flycatcher, MS Woodpecker, Pec Sand.
Snaps of variable quality from recent birding trip to Austria, part 1 of 2. Great Bustard, Imperial Eagle, Red-footed Falcon, Long-eared Owl.
Setting off on a mini European train adventure. Today Cov-London-Brussels-Cologne then tomorrow Cologne-Vienna followed by 5 days birding in eastern Austria and western Hungary. Then, over the course of a few days, Bratislava-Vienna-Munich-Zürich-Paris-London-Cov. #lowcarbonbirding #ukbirdkng
Did a 7 mile walk from the house early am. 64sp, none super unexpected but vaguely notable things included Garden + Reed Warb, Whitethroat, Red Kite, Peregrine, Yellowhammer. Sadly no Marsh Tit in the usual spot, looks like their local extinction may be imminent. Y'hammer and fox pics... #UKbirding
Watching the skies from my house this morning was a hit underwhelming but I did rack up 30sp including my first House Martin of the year #ukbirding
Most notable feature of a local patch stroll this morning was a big arrival of Willow Warblers - 22 in total - more than double previous highest count for the patch. Swallow was nfy but not much else of note. #ukbirding #westmidsbirding
Still in Fife and had a few hours to myself this afternoon so did some birding around St Andrews. Nothing mega-surprising but did find Slav Grebe, Velvet Scoter, Sand Martin, Purple Sand, a few BN Dolphins. And 2 Tufted Duck were, I think, the first ones I’ve seen on the sea in Fife #ukbirding
In Fife again at the moment, this time with kids in tow so birding has been minimal, but today I did managed to locate Crossbill, Raven, Dipper, some PF Goose flocks and some Tree Sparrow. #ukbirding
A long but pleasant day birding in and around Middleton, the "Minsmere of the Midlands". A total of 73sp included my first Avocet, Green Sand and Sand Martins of 2024, a sadly heard-only drumming LSW. It does not include the continuing anas crecca carolinensis, or an iffy RB Goose. #UKBirding
Best of 57sp on a patch stroll this morning were Redpoll, Red Kite, Goosander, a bit of Mipit movement, and lots of Chiffs now in situ. #UKBirding
I was there 11-1 or thereabouts. You certainly saw a bigger range of notable birds than I did. I would say it was due to my having kids in tow but I probably just wasn’t looking hard enough!
A family visit to Brandon Marsh was a mixed success in terms of kids' levels of interest in the wildlife and capacity to not make a noise in hides! Most interesting of 52 bird sp were GW Egret and my first local Redshank of the year. #UKbirding
Reposted by: Jonathan Dean
Heads up #ukbirding and #birding folk! @alantilmouth.bsky.social has set up a #LowCarbonBirding feed! It’s a forum for those of us pursuing low carbon options for birding and life. A place to discuss with like minded folk and to post about your LCB activities. Cross tag to promote LCB to others!
Got the train to Brum today and had an enjoyable few hours at Sandwell Valley. Highlight of 52sp was the long-staying Smew, as well as first singing Chiffs of the year, Cetti's Warbler, Kingfisher, Goldeneye, Barnacle Goose, Water Rail etc. #UKbirding
Academic self-promotion alert, sorry. Absolutely thrilled to have contributed a chapter about neoliberalism to this amazing edited collection of scholarly essays about the Pet Shop Boys, who I've been a massive fan of since I saw 'Go West' on TOTP in 1993, aged 11.
Did a 90min “skywatch” from the house in the calm sunny conditions this morning. Nothing scarce but lots of activity: 24 Buzzards, 6 Sparrowhawk, 4 Raven. Also enjoyed watching broody LBB Gulls on nearby rooftops! #ukbirding
Indeed. Just finished drafting a chapter about birding and digital technology, including a section on AI and the Swarovski bins!
Thanks Steve. There’s going to be a chapter on birding and the climate crisis where these questions will be addressed.
well, it's about birding as an activity rather then birds per se. It examines recent trends, developments and tendencies within modern birding, and examines challenges and sites of contestation such as diversity/inclusivity, ethics, climate crisis etc
So, I'm currently taking a period of leave from work during which time I am writing a book! About birding! It won't hit the shelves for a while yet, but am enjoying it so far. To that end, I'm curious to hear from fellow birders what you think are the main challenges facing the #UKBirding community?
This is a bit random - and wholly unrelated to birds - but I appeared as a guest in a YouTube series about the band Sparks, talking about neurodivergence and gender politics (among other things). It is here if you wish to avail yourselves: www.youtube.com/watch?v=pM1i...
Sparks Entertainment and Art (12): Jonathan Dean on Sparks, Neuro-Divergence, and Sexual Politics
Blog with lots of Sparks stuff! https://montesnewblog.blogspot.com/Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MonteMallinJoin me in a compelling and extremely i...
www.youtube.com
Photos of some (literally) common birds on patch this morning: Common Buzzard and Common Gull, plus worm. #UKbirding
Well better late than never I managed to get Waxwing for my house/patch list. First saw them whilst having a cup of tea downstairs, so legged it upstairs to the spare room where my bins were and managed good views of 23+ birds for about a minute before they flew off SE. #ukbirding
Hi, yes, Dipper is pretty widespread in Fife: occurs on pretty much any and all rocky streams. Tree Sparrow has actually increased in Eastern Scotland in recent years, in stark contrast to the situation in England, but I'm not entirely clear of the factors behind these contrasting fortunes.
Bad photos of standard central Fife fare from a walk from my mum's house in Ceres this morning: Dipper, Tree Sparrow, distant Grey Partridge, Blue Tit living dangerously. #ukbirding
Yes indeed. A bit of a gamble but it paid off as the grouse were just too distant to detect with just bins.
A day trip by train into Perthshire today. Highlight 2 distant male Black Grouse at a site where I had seen them a few times in the 90s. At least my foolhardy decision to lug my scope on a 10km undulating walk was not in vain. Supporting cast included Nuthatch, Crossbill and Red Kite. #ukbirding
In Fife for a few days. Did some birding around St. Andrews this afternoon. Decent variety despite crap weather and visibility: highlights PB Brent, LT Duck, Scaup, Pintail, loads of Sanderling etc. Only vaguely photogenic birds were these Purple Sandpipers below the golf museum car park. #ukbirding
