P&B Bird Watch

[Hillonearth]

16 minutes ago, Ziggy said:

I don’t think I’ve ever seen one and I stay in Ayrshire.  What kind of habitat do they like?

Maybe ten or fifteen years ago, you'd be best looking for them in overgrown fields or wasteground - they love weed seeds. There's been a huge population boom over the last decade or so, and more and more they're moving into gardens. They're probably the commonest finch where I live just outside Glasgow nowadays.

[Billy Jean King]

I don’t think I’ve ever seen one and I stay in Ayrshire.  What kind of habitat do they like?

Yes any grassy weedy area with seed type plants. The edges of the golf courses in Troon and Irvine are awash with small flocks of them. Very distinctive "flighty" flight (if that makes sense) with incessant chittering although I suppose you can't really miss them. They are on almost every seed feeder in gardens fringing their habitat although they don't stray too far from their natural environment.

[Clockwork]

I don’t think I’ve ever seen one and I stay in Ayrshire.  What kind of habitat do they like?

Widely populated across D&G too, seem to like the young conifers in the garden and also love the Niger seeds we put out. Not many of the other Finches, Tits or Sparrows seem to be able to eke them out of the feeder (or perhaps it’s only the Goldfinches that like them).

[Jimi Shandrix]

I saw a jay in Broughty Ferry yesterday. 

[Ziggy]

Pheasants are regular visitors but I’ve never seen one on my bird feeder before.

[Archie McSquackle]

I had no idea magpies aren't a common sight all over Scotland but that's purely down to me seeing loads in Glasgow and my ignorance.
Anyway, saw this statuesque heron at the side of the canal from the path through the new Claypits Nature Reserve behind Firhill today.
This was just after two swans flew overhead- always think there's something impressive yet a bit odd about swans in flight (no picture unfortunately).

[Rizzo]

That's twice now I've managed to spot a jay in the middle of Falkirk in the wee park along from my house. I don't ever remember there being many of them about.

[tamthebam]

2 hours ago, Archie McSquackle said:

I had no idea magpies aren't a common sight all over Scotland but that's purely down to me seeing loads in Glasgow and my ignorance.
Anyway, saw this statuesque heron at the side of the canal from the path through the new Claypits Nature Reserve behind Firhill today.
This was just after two swans flew overhead- always think there's something impressive yet a bit odd about swans in flight (no picture unfortunately).

The last movement of Sibelius's 5th symphony is meant to represent wild swans in flight and is rather a fine piece of music.

I agree about the oddness- I think it's the long necks that make them look a bit odd in flight.

[Ziggy]

I’ve been trying to get a decent photo of a heron since lockdown started. Despite seeing it most mornings I haven’t managed it yet

[Hillonearth]

14 hours ago, MixuFruit said:

I've seen (or more often heard, for such a pretty bird its got an awful call) half a dozen this year, don't remember ever seeing one before in Scotland.

I can remember being on a work trip to Germany in the mid-90s and seeing three lifers - black redstart, nuthatch and jay - thinking I'd done quite well as I was unlikely to ever see any of them in Scotland. Fast forward to today and the latter two of them have become pretty common birds here, whether through natural expansion of range or global warming...who knows?

I know the SOC seem to be getting pretty frustrated at the moment as they were attempting to scientifically chart the population increase and range expansion of the nuthatch in Scotland, but it's become so common so quickly that people simply aren't bothering to report it anymore.

[sugna]

12 minutes ago, MixuFruit said:

I have a recording on birdnet that is identified as a black redstart, so maybe all 3!

BirdNET [sic] is generally wonderful. However, it does get some calls spectacularly wrong. I usually move the window around until it agrees with what I want the bird to be.

It was alternating between a willow warbler (which was what I thought I had) and a pelican, when we were up by Rafford this year. But a black redstart seems perfectly plausible.

We had that so-familiar experience with yer basic redstarts* a couple of years ago, in a woods along the moor by Swaledale. A glimpse of some exciting colours, not enough to ID, then another glimpse, could be a male bullfinch, maybe a particularly bright chaffinch? Then just enough time to take a shot with the long lens, zoom in... and it's a redstart!

The familiar part is that the next 30 minutes of our walk consisted of repeated encounters with small groups of much bolder redstarts flying in and out, in pretty clear sight. Dunno why birds are so keen on the initial coyness followed by absolutely flaunting themselves, but it fools me every time.

* Thought I saw a black redstart in France some years ago, but not positive enough to be sure.

[Hillonearth]

53 minutes ago, MixuFruit said:

I have a recording on birdnet that is identified as a black redstart, so maybe all 3!

They do occur here on passage, but seeing one would really just be your Donald. The way they colonised the UK was a strange one...they only started breeding here after WW2 mainly on bomb sites around London and other big cities. They seem to be on their way back out again as obviously that kind of habitat's no longer a thing. In the sixties there were a good few hundred breeding pairs, but that's dwindled to a few dozen these days.

[SANTAN]

I used to laugh at bird watchers as a youngster but the older I get the more I find myself getting intrigued by the birds in my garden. 

What's a good onramp bird watcher thing to check out as i embrace the fact I'm into that shit. 

[RiG]

On 08/12/2020 at 21:43, MixuFruit said:

I've seen (or more often heard, for such a pretty bird its got an awful call) half a dozen this year, don't remember ever seeing one before in Scotland.

My folks stay just outside Inverness and there are loads of jays in the woods behind their house. Their call is utterly brutal as you say but they've become quite a common  sight (or rather sound) up there.

[Melanius Mullarkey]

Pesky starlings

Dancing starling spectacle caused power cuts in Scottish village https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-55334891

[Billy Jean King]

Jay's are up there with Ring-Neck Parakeets as the b*****ds of bird song, Magpies not far behind. No song about them just a racket. Jay's are the most common bird in my Sister in laws garden in Turkey and by christ what a din every morning and evening. They are remarkably timid for such a noisy bird. Seen them fleetingly here a few times but they are the classic heard but not seen merchants.

I have a very odd plumage great tit visiting the last couple of weeks. Virtually no yellow hint at all. Striking black and white head and broad black breast stripe but it's against a drab grey rather than yellow. 100% a great tit though just a colour variant.

[Ziggy]

Here’s my latest attempt at getting a good picture of my pal the Heron.

[Ziggy]

I’d have probably got a better pic if I hadn’t been sliding down the river bank.

[Clockwork]

I have a recording on birdnet that is identified as a black redstart, so maybe all 3!

Strangely enough a Black Redstart is the first bird mentioned in this thread, in the very first post no less, looking back through it.
The RSPB estimates that there are fewer than a hundred breeding pairs in the U.K.

https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/black-redstart/

[Billy Jean King]

Here’s my latest attempt at getting a good picture of my pal the Heron.

You've made it look like an Eeggret !