Good Riddance 2009

I never profess to be a "proper" birder and am rubbish at keeping track of what I have actually seen, but what with the other half going on about falling short of 200 this year, I thought I'd sit down and work out my bird list for 2009.

2009 total: 173

life list: 182

Not too bad really considering the general lack of outings in the second half of this year, and that I missed out on my big autumn holiday. Generally 2009 has been totally shit, so 2010 doesn't have to try too hard to be an improvement really.
Highlights for 2009 include a pair of montagu's harrier, barn owls, penduline tits, a bittern flying right over our heads, and spoonbills (which are always awesome). Oh, and the robin in Hanningfield attacking Parus. My favourite birds of 2009 had to be the white storks in France, but due to their frenchness don't count to my total. They are just ridiculously big...
Birds missing from my list that really shouldn't be include whooper/berwicks swans, eider, garganey, any exciting herons, golden eagle, osprey, red kite, dipper, lesser spotted woodpecker, dartford warbler, tree sparrow.... loads basically.
The aim for 2010 will be to make the big 200, and if the trip to Mull goes ahead this should be easily achieveable. I would also like to get a decent sight of a kingfisher, to make more of an effort with seabirds, and to finally work out whether or not brambling are a myth. More importantly, I would like to see this "smart looking black and red bird" that my mum claims to have seen in our garden. If we have a bullfinch here i want evidence!

The target zoo-wise will be to try to get away from my desk a bit more and take some photos of all the awesome stuff that lives there. We have a new male gorilla that is shaping up to be a handsome chap, and have had plenty of very cute babies of late. Personally I have my fingers crossed for mini aardvarks.


So here is to a better 2010...

In Which I Actually Went Outside And Saw Some Birds...

Conscious of the fact that I haven't really had much to blog about of late, I figured it's about time I posted something a little more topical (as nice as christmas biscuits are of course).

I saw some birds today. More specifically I saw a really big, dark and mean-looking gull sitting on the Thames in Rainham...


Tempted by the offer of lots of tea and a panini, me and the boy headed to Rainham for lunch, and got some pretty good views of a great skua floating downriver and flying back up a few times while we were there. Having very little patience for things like sea watching, seeing birds like this is always nice for me. Especially when I'm inside a nice heated visitor centre with a cup of tea. Awesome :) I don't think I'd pick a fight with this bird, he looks pretty mean and I'm told that they like to pick on gannets for fun.

It was cold and miserable, and I currently have a cold and was feeling a bit miserable, so didn't bother going onto the reserve but it looked good and wintery. Plenty of ducks, gulls and waders everywhere including at least 6 pintail on Purfleet pools. This is where you think I'd put a photograph of said pintail, but what with all of the cups of tea and the panini I forgot to take one. Instead, have a photo taken of a blue tit at Abberton in October which I don't think I bothered to write about because this person beat me to it. Also I was upset about the squirrel.


I went to Swanage for a couple of days after Christmas with the family, but hardly left the flat really so no news there. It was lovely and sunny the whole time though, so had a nice walk along the seafront. Just need to figure out a way of making money then I'm moving to the sea...


I'll try to make more of an effort to tell you more about birds and zoos in the new year. A trip to Thrigby Hall and Norfolk in January will help with this...

oh well...

Looks like my christmas present to me didn't go as hoped,
albeit unsurprisingly...

Greetings from Amazon.co.uk.

Unfortunately, the release date for the item(s) listed below
was changed by the supplier, and we need to provide you with
a new estimated delivery date based on the new release date:

Lars Svensson, et al "Collins Bird Guide"
Estimated arrival date: March 10 2010 - March 12 2010

Seasons Greetings and that

In the absence of anything interesting/ amusing/ informative to tell you, enjoy some christmas biscuits :)

Of mulled wine, dinosaurs and traffic jams...

This is a bit if a disjointed blog post, so I've attempted to pull it together with a title. I don't think it worked but oh well :)

This weekend I went to Tollesbury with the boy, and despite only being a short walk we saw quite a lot. There were ridiculous numbers of waders flying past in huge flocks (for essex at least), including dunlin, knot, golden plover, grey plover, ringed plover, curlew, oystercatchers.. probably many more I can't remember. We got there pretty much at high tide (more by luck and by careful planning), so we were hoping for some interesting seabirds and weren't disappointed. I found myself a pair of scoter (read: two black blobs which vaguely resembled cold looking ducks- tick) and a diver which I'm assured is a great northern diver. It certainly had a stripey rump and a big head, so I'm happy with that. A seal popped up and had a good look at us looking at him. Of course I didn't have my camera, but didn't worry as the boy captured the moment with yet another stunning display of professional-standard photography.
For a much more in depth and useful summary, you might want to check his blog instead :)

Sunday was spent trying to find a decent German christmas market in London with a uni friend of mine who spent a year in Germany. The market on the Southbank was pretty poor, and the one in Hyde Park was even worse, unless you want a funfair and then it's good. A cup of mulled wine, some caramelised almonds and some overpriced chips later, and we found outselves in Kensington with more time on our hands than we expected. What else is in Kensington? Dinosaurs of course.





Love the use of shadows by the way. Oooooh scary teeeeeth.....

What? They're related to birds at least, and you can't really resist popping in when you're walking right past the building. We went into the new Darwin wing too, with the Cocoon. Very impressive and good use of interactive interpretation, but possibly a bit too gimmicky and not enough good old fashioned labels for my liking. Still, worth a look round if you have a spare half hour or so. As I was being a tourist for the day, we also had a wander round the foodhall in Harrods, which is always good to see how the other half live. They have GIANT fruit there.

Today was spent much in the same way as the last few weeks- trudging to and from work through Regent's Park in the pouring rain. Really, I think it would be nice to have at least a couple of dry, crisp winter days please. At the tail end of my commute home, I was sitting in a traffic jam leading up to my good friend the a128 when a big pale bird with broad wings flew slow and low right past my car. Of course I didn't get a photo as I was being a responsible driver, so you'll have to use your imagination here. I am never that great at identifying birds on my own when I am going out looking for them, so it's particularly unusual for me to find something interesting when I'm not expecting it. So I have to say, I'm quite proud of this one :) A barn owl! (Nearly) In Thurrock! Owls are always great to see, and it's nice to know there's more than I knew about near where I live. That means there's now a tawny owl in my road, at least two little owls at my nan's house, and a barn owl up the road. Roll on the short-eared owls... :)

New Things

This weekend I didn't manage to do anything exciting like go to Norfolk, so instead I cheered myself up by restocking my fish tank following a bit of neglect of late.

First up were a pair of corydoras to keep my panda company. Marvel at my amazing photography skills..


With the gradual decline of my minnows (finally) and my platys (theyre rubbish fish), I decided on trying out some guppies, for the main reason that they're supposed to be really easy to breed and that might be quite fun.


Will keep you posted as to the extent of their success, but so far I've kept the full compliment alive for 2 whole days. Hoorah!


Ram is still my favourite though, he's like the fish equivalent of a portugese friend of mine- small, cocky but entertaining.

Oh and while I was out I picked up one of these...

Should be much more reliable for all those far-flung birding trips than the blue beast :) It's much bigger than I thought, but I suppose most cars are big compared to a Ka. It's pleasingly grown-up and doesn't make any doom-filled noises as you drive along, which as far as I'm concerned is a big plus.

Update 2: Dorset

I can't be bothered to write up a proper post about our trip to Dorset a couple of weeks ago with the Boy, so have some nice pictures...

When it wasn't raining we managed to find some time to go to Portland Bill, Abbotsbury and to the interesting side of Brownsea Island.








But kids, don't forget. Nature is dangerous. Mind the sharp edges...


Or this guy will get you.

Might look cute but has been singing like a car alarm all day...

Update 1: Brighton-Marwell...

Last week was spent at various places in the South, and managed to have a proper break away and catch up on sleep.

First we spent a couple of days in Brighton, where I caught up with a friend from university and visited some old favourite places (including a particularly good sunday roast in a pub near my old house). I miss Brighton, so was good to have a wander round. We went to see Up while we were there- which I highly recommend (don't bother with the 3-D version though, can't say it overwhelmed me). We watched the starling flocks gather over the (wrong) pier as the sun went down, on a ridiculously warm evening.

Monday was spent at Marwell Zoo, which has to be my new favourite zoo. They have a great collection of animals, including plenty that you don't normally see in zoos (snow leopard, bat-eared foxes, fossa, and various smaller cat species). Definitely worth a visit if you're in the area, particularly for their huge African Plain exhibit. I'm always a sucker for penguins though :)

Penguin chasing my hand, complete with bubbles...

Pygmy marmoset being small

Amazonian milk frogs being awesome

Cheetah having a rest after chasing the land train

Further update to follow on stuff wot we saw in Dorset...

Quick catch up...

After over 7 weeks with no internet I am finally able to update my blog. Not that I've really been up to much that's very exciting. Me and the boy are heading south for the next week, hoping to have a well-needed rest and get outside a bit more.

Meanwhile, I'll leave you with some photos I just found from a trip to Oare Marshes at the end of September...

Suggestions please....

The planned trip to Mull in October doesn't look like it's going to happen now, for various reasons. A real shame, because I was looking forwards to seeing lots of big birds (EAGLES), getting scared by proper scottish people, and sitting on a hill being very cold and watching a deer rut. Ah well, sometimes you just need to change your plans and maybe we'll go in Spring instead and see all the Puffins...

This leads me to the audience participation part of my post. I do still have a week off work and would like (neeeeeeed) to get away. Has anybody got any suggestions of somewhere nice to go and investigate relatively cheaply? Home/abroad, I'm not too fussy...

Me again

Hello, remember me? Not really been out and about chasing wildlife as much as usual of late, and so haven't had much to tell you about. Add that to the fact when I get home I generally just fall asleep, what I have had to tell you never quite made it online.

I went to Dorset a couple of weeks ago with my mum, and it was pretty good really. Didn't do much birding to speak of, but we did walk from Swanage to Corfe along that big Chalkhill ridge which eventually turns into Old Harry Rocks/ the Needles.

Corfe Castle is a bit cool really...

Poole Harbour as seen from just outside Swanage.

There were a fair few swallows and martins zipping around the fields as we walked along. Plenty of stonechats and many other birds that I didn't stop for long enough to identify. Dorset also has big flocks of rooks/jackdaws, all of which seemed to take off in the air simultaneously at one point. Pretty impressive if slightly scary thing to witness... From being at such a relatively high vantage point we were able to see loads of kestrels, sparrowhawks and peregrines hunting below us. Oh and this guy sitting in a tree being very vocal.

Rargh I am loud Buzzard

On setting out on our walk, mum mentioned that she never really saw any butterflies anywhere anymore. Just to prove her wrong, I had a ridiculously productive lepidopterrific walk, especially considering that I didn't even have my book with me. Large white, small white, green-veined white, speckled wood, painted lady, gatekeeper and peacock butterflies made welcome usual appearances, but there were also hundreds of small heaths flitting around our feet, and loads of different blue butterflies that I couldn't really tell apart on my own.

Butterflies everywhere...

Small heath really are very very small...

Most exciting of all was one particularly pretty bright blue butterfly that was very obliging when I pointed my camera at it. I later checked it out in my book and am pretty certain it's an Adonis Blue. Now this is a pretty rare spot but everything seems to add up. The black marks around the edge of the wings together with the underwing pattern don't really point to anything else, plus the shade of blue is completely different to the usual purplish-hues of common blues. Plus the habitat requirement "short herb-rich turf on sunny south-facing downland slopes", with a distribution limited to pockets of south central England. Awesome.

Adonis Blue being very blue and adonis-like

We were a bit tired after our walk and big ploughmans pub lunch, so just took the train back home :)

just a note

I was going to write a proper post about going to Dorset last weekend and seeing some exciting butterflies, but that will have to wait.

This is just too funny not to share though :)

There should be a few other previews linked from this, but I think the clip one minute into this one has to be my favourite...

Back to work

In an attempt to regain a sense of normality, I am back at work this week.

Well, as normal as you can get working in a place like this...

Not so bad really :)

Hi

Not been around much of late, most of you know why but this silence will probably be a bit more prolonged so don't expect much bird-related news for a while.

On the fish front, I can't say the situation has become any more optimistic. That fish carped it, and another one is looking pretty ropy as of this evening. I have to say, they really pick their times to become suicidal... I need to do a complete overhaul of my tank, and replace the stones with sand to be more catfish-friendly, plus introduce a load more plants. This will require most of a day to do, and this is time I don't particularly have at my disposal currently...

Family-wise, we're doing okay. Going through the motions but I guess it won't sink in fully for a long time. Big day on Wednesday, after which I suppose we'll have to start trying to get back to "normal". If my fish could cease this mass piscecide for a couple of weeks, I would be most appreciative...

And so it begins...

Yes, the slow decline into failue. It was bound to happen really. Just as I managed to outsmart the snails and the plants had settled in, something was bound to go wrong.

RIP Minnow I. A victim of what I suspect to be foul play, on the part of my Ram. I am keeping a close eye on this one... Still, these minnows have already easily outlived their life expectancy, so it could be the result of a combination of reasons. However, concerns over the welfare of my fish population have taken a slightly more sinister turn...


Currently my Corydoras schwartzii isn't looking this good. Really not very good at all, bearing in mind the two massive lesions on his head and lack of barbels. Bumcakes. Methinks I'll be heading down to the fish shop first thing in the morning for some sort of miracle fixitude, after a water change. I'll keep you posted, but my hopes aren't high for this little guy :(

Note to readers: Don't search for "Hole in the Head Corydoras" unless you want to throw up some gay porn...

Local birding again

Mostly as a result of not being motivated enough to head any further afield after some hula-related drunkeness the day before, me and the man ended up at Rainham on Sunday for a very pleasant if not particularly productive few hours.

Wennington marshes

We started off at the other entrance to the reserve near the tip, as I've never been there before. There are some brilliant views across the Thames and across Aveley Pools. Other than the unsuprising smellyness, this area of the marshes is really interesting and has such a great variety of wildflowers considering it's only been developed over the past few years (enough to warrant me needing to buy a ID book now). Some more gorse bushes are needed, and then it'll be full of dartford warblers :)

Of course, to keep up with my recent habits of completely neglecting to take any bird photos in favour of lots of invertebrates, here are my efforts from Sunday. Suddenly the gatekeepers are out and about, and we also spotted some small heaths, peacocks, commas, ringlets, large, small and green veined white, a couple of different types of skipper and loads of cinnabar moth caterpillars on ragwort. Quite pleased with some of the photos :)

Peacock butterfly

Large white butterfly

Gatekeeper butterfly

Comma butterfly

Common darter (common but still pretty awesome)

In other news, The Man saw a quail on the road towards my village yesterday. I didn't. I think I was probably too busy telling a Very Important Story about something, while trying to avoid all of the suicidal wood pigeons and collared doves that like to fly at my car. Anyway, that's another one for me to have to keep up with on my year list. Also, the field in my BTO survey area that was full of butterflies and yelllowhammers was completely cut down a few days ago, and I haven't seen the yellowhammer since. Never really sure why they do this so early in the year, as I dread to think how many caterpillars were harvested along with the crop... Oh well it was nice while it lasted.

Sunday sunset- been plenty of good ones lately but this is the first one I've got on camera.

Hampshire Dahhling

Skipped off to the Shire this weekend for a quick friendly visit, and also hopefully to bag a nightingale across Ludshott Common, as previously and better described in some other blogs.

The area is really lovely, as are the two pubs we frequented during our stay there, and it's always good to see somewhere new. Was most impressed by Maiden Lulu's local patch, as it puts essex to shame a bit. The river walk was beautiful despite the scary bridge. I was also excited to drive past here, due to some books I used to read when I was little :)

In invertebrate-related news, I had a lepidopterial first for me in the shape of a Comma, which was a nice surprise. As ever there were Meadow browns and ringlets everywhere, together with a whole pile of small/green veined whites and various skippers.

An actual Red Admiral being very obliging

Comma butterfly

This is a bit off-topic, but saw this in the news and thought it was pretty cool. My nan would love it anyway... Plenty of links for you to have fun with in this post.

Obituary

I am sad to report today the sad demise of Alan the Shrimp.

Beginning his life in The Tank as one of a team of six pioneer organisms, he flourished in his new home where his fellow tankmates were unable to match his determination. Starting as a tiny shrimp only destined for fish food and donated for free, Alan reached almost nephropidic proportions later in life. He spent his days hanging out amongst the plants, sneaking up on the corydoras and his favourite activity of running through water (an amazing feat in itself). He surpassed all of our expectations, and entertained all that had the pleasure of meeting him. He never let being the only of his kind in the tank get in the way, and I feel privileged to have known him. Rest in Peace. (note to self- must restock tank livestock levels ASAP).

Looking at the Alan in the Mirror.

Once Bittern Thrice Shy (continuing bad humour)

I started writing this post on Sunday evening, then tiredness won and I forgot to press "publish" before heading off to bed. Sorry about that... Anyway.

Despite the LIES of the whole weather-watching community, we decided to embark on our third visit to Lakenheath on Sunday. Not a bad run up there, so still had a decent amount of time for a wander round despite the late start. Superior birders were also in attendance, and may provide you with a more useful summary of the day.

There were lots of birds, many of which I can't remember now. Plenty of sedge/reed warblers everywhere, several cuckoo there like last time, and bearded tits amongst the reeds. As well as the now really boring bittern booms, we think we heard some young bittern calling which was pretty cool. Bit late to see the cranes out and about, but we heard them too so is tickable I suppose even if not satisfactory. Of course the real reason we went an hour and a half out of our way was to try and catch a glimpse of some golden orioles before they disappear for another year. Me and this one heard some very distinctive singing, and together we saw a couple of flashes of yellow through the forest with an audience of about 20 other people. I am told this was an oriole, but we must try harder next year I think.

I was a bit distracted by all the butterflies everywhere, so apologies for the lack of photographic evidence of any of the above. Here is what I did manage to get though...

There were more birds than this, but it was the only one that made it into my photographs. Young great-crested grebes were on my Things To See list for this year, so it was worth documenting.

The less cuddly variety of buzzy things. Was quite obliging for the photo though.

Small tortoisehell butterfly, one of a great many.

An Essex skipper, or so we believe. Feel free to correct me with your superior knowledge...

I'll try to avoid moths and butterflies and try to concentrate on the birds more next time, my most sincere apologies.