Well not by specifically their numbers, but as i had a few hours wandering and a twitchin’
It gave me a chance to learn a few more species that i never knew or certainly haven’t seen before.

Took a few photies, but of a low standard.

The two i really wanted a half decent photo of didn’t happen due to failing light.

I left the warmth of the house and walked past the flocks of Goldfinches, greenfinches, sparrows and tits, plus others i’ve yet to identify.

Then straight onto the harbour walls several inches thick with snow.
The cold wind blew from the west, along the shores of Moray.
Herring and black back gulls bobbed in the water and glided through the sky. In the distance i saw a cormorant dive for fish.

I walked west into the wind, where redshank and turnstones foraged on the shore line with the distinctive Oystercatchers and curved billed
Curlews.

A Rock Pippet hopped across the pebbled ground in search of insects and small shell fish.

I was heading to the seal colony grounds as the tide was heading out. They’d be coming to rest on the rocks whilst the tide is out.

An eider flies low almost skimming the surface of the sea. And the others take flight as i scare them off.

Flashing black and white V’s from three of the species and the high pitched “woooooooort” from the curved billed curlews.

I dropped onto the beach now that it was exposed, then stalked below the snow covered banks to creep up on a view.

Sat huddled together, lit up by the sun, both Curlew and Oyster catcher sat warm.

Slowly, i looked over the bank and took a few photos,then skulked back down and away without fright.

Twice a type of bird passed me by in flight. Black and white a distinctive flight, what is was i don’t know maybe tomorrow..

Reaching the seals, at sea they still were.
So i waited and shivered, then shivered some more.
The sun had set beyond in the west, light would fade soon.

Wait i will.

A seal came to shore to see what i was, then dived for cover.

As the sea finally uncovered it’s bed, the seal clambered up then swam in again.

I was cold and chose to leave them be, two ringed plover came to feed, to cold to stop, another day then.
So i walked up into the hill, and into the gorse covered countryside.

Alongside a small conifer plantation, flashes of red. Bullfinches. One sat on a branch and picked seeds from below. The light was low, i crept nearer and grab a pic or two before it flew off.

The great thing about being relaxed, un rushed and in tune, is that just by stopping and watching. You will see things, movements in the trees, ground, everywhere.

It was during one of those moments that a very slight movement caught my eye. I closed in and managed some very poor photo’s. This tinniest of birds, in fact the uk’s tiniest, the goldcrest sat feeding upon a conifer tree.

I’ve never seen one before and given the size, a doubt many have either.

A few meters on and a familiar sound, a wren scratched around and foraged in the bark of a tree. Too fast it was, or to slow was i.

It was now pretty dim, time to go back and unfreeze my hands and have a brew.

Time for one more photo as before the stars come out.

Sounds like a great day, fantastic pics thanks for posting 🙂

ps I have seen a goldcrest but not in the UK, my attempts to photograph it were also in vain.

nice pics mate. have started taking food to work for the birds in this weather. cant do it at home due to the 3 cats i have, its great seing all the different types coming over.

Nice post. Lucky enough where I am right now to watch the geese (pinkfoot/greylags) coming in off the fields in their thousands to the sands and marshes to overnight. Love that sound. Stopped and watched a seal come with the tide the other day too. Muntjacs in the pinewoods and a pair of tawny owls glided past me last week. In this winter everything is having to try harder to find sustenance.

Early on today I had 2 magpies hopping around the garden in the snow.
Now I have 1 and a half magpies and a satisfied looking buzzard who turned up out of nowhere. It was quite impressive to see such a big bird at work.

great photos Shane

interesting that Electric Worry. Working at home today and for a couple of hours I had 6 Red kites whizzing around outside my window. They had ganged up to hunt the crows, magpies and pigeons and were chasing them all over. Pretty amazing to watch the acrobatics. I always tough Kites were carrion hunters, but I guess with the snow they must be getting pretty hungry and trying for anything.

Robin <tick>
Snow <tick>

Whats not to like……………

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I have goldfinch, blue and great tits, longtailed tit, wren, robin, thrush, blackbird, coal tit and occasionally a sparrowhawk turns up and ruins the party!

Thanks for the comments.

Still for the life of me can’t ID the B/W bird. It flew like a dove and was slightly larger.. 😕 i’ll get there.

Forgot the two snipe that broke cover and took off to the sound of a squeaky mattress..

Will have another wander today and see what’s aboot.

Describe the b&w bird Sharki….it’s flight etc. I’ll take a festive punt!

Awesome thread. Cheered me up that has!

The natural world is awesome, totally where it’s at.

Happy Christmas dude.

Ps. Linnet at the top I reckon.

It’s lovely winter ATM – so bright and clear. I went for a delightfully peaceful and snowy tramp in the hills and woods for three hours yesterday, staying off the beaten tracks, and saw no-one except roe deer hinds and shaggy hill ponies. But I forgot my camera. DoH!

Lovely photos Sharki.

Good thread sharki with nice pics too!

Haha. Just noticed your post. Not much in Britain that it could have been tbf. How about a magpie missing it’s tail feathers?!! Is that too obvious? Female Great Spotted Woodpecker?

Anyway, hope it’s something more unusual for you!!!

Further thanks.

I knew i’d seen that bird before.

The distinctive wing shape and beat..

I scanned over the web at B&W birds, yet nothing came close.

Then today whilst out, amongst the wilds again.

I approached the mouth of a burn. The birds there, took flight and in that instant i knew.

Lapwings.

I’ve seen them before many a time, i just couldn’t recall them during flight.

Todays walk, gave fewer pics that i’ve yet to upload.

Birds today.
A woodcock and others as yesterday.

Pics up laters if i find anything worthy

Excellent post sharki, I am Jealous! BTW it is defo a Linnet.

I had a goldcrest in my garden in the summer regularly, Since the snow started last week, I have had Blackcap, Buzzard, Gooseander flying over, Goldfinch, Redwing, Fieldfare, willow T it, Great spotted woodpecker. Still no siskin or brambling!!! arrghhhhhh.

saw a kestral diving for food the other day whilst out on the bike set aginst a grey snowy feild’s and trees.Was a wonderful sight.

A very disappointing day with the photomachine.

First target were Bullfinches, who cleverly fed on grasses beyond my focusing capabilities.(auto focus, fixed on the grasses in the foreground)

Luckily i was there to watch them feed, plucking seeds and crushing them with their powerful beaks.

There was both males and females, both being striking against the snowy background and red grasses. Plump too.

As i watched them, in the distance and approaching fast and low a woodcock approached and landed in the watery ditch just behind the finches. This was only 5m from me.

The ditch was about 1m deep and with little water exposed, i knew it would be difficult to get near before the shy bird saw me and took off.

Still, i needed to at least try.
So creeping(crunching) through the soft powdery snow, i approached the ditch and focused on the snowy lip, a very gradually leant forwards.

I knew the area in which it landed and with my eyes fixed on that point, i saw it.
Just the head and the tapering long beak. It was looking at me and all i could do was look.

Once again the grass was in the way..Grrr.

The woodcock soon was spooked enough and in a flash flew off. I watched it climb and circle away..Arse!

With a lack of bird song left, i walked of back towards the bay

As i walked through snow covered gorse, a sudden flutter to my left and a snipe took off. I spun round to fire off a shot, as i did my hood dislodged a lump of snow from an overhanging gorse branch, dumping it down my neck.Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

I passed the golf course.

To cut a long story short and to save you from reading more waffle, i went to the beach, ID’d the lapwing.

Took pictures of icicles.

then got a bus to town to grab some twilight urban pics.

Oh well i tried and had fun.

It’s a great world out there.
Don’t get bored peeps.

S

Glad you are enjoying yourself up there, Merry Chrimbo and watch out for the barbed wire.

Cheers fella.

You and yours have a good un.

It’s all razor wire and fish hooks up here.

Lots of lapwings around here. My first encounter with a snipe nearly sent me insane. It was at Sanna bay near Ardnurchan. It is a very strange sound they make and very hard to pinpoint. We’ve had a bird in the garden here that my dad called a long wagtail. I’m certain he’s wrong. It’s that type but a black head with a white stripe down the middle. Ideas?

Snipes have a few calls, one of which is very odd it’s true.

The pied wagtail commonly has a white face, with black cap, neck and throat.

If it had the characteristic tail waging motion that all wagtails have and was in the UK, i’d suspect it had a bit of partial albinism or Leucism.

Long tailed tits have black heads with a single white stripe down the centre. However, they are clearly tits.
They’re smaller than a wagtail and would more commonly be seen as part of a small flock.

Try to get a pic whilst digesting xmas food and we’ll have a better idea.

Sadly very few. A bowl of seed has only just been touched after days and the peanuts and fat balls haven’t been touched at all.

To many magpies and squirrels in the summer have seen off all the young small birds/eggs 👿

Plagued by magpies for the last 3 or 4 summers.

If you live on an estate. The chances are they have found a good source elsewhere and haven’t needed to venture to your garden.

Kinda works rural too.

Nice thread Sharki.

I was gonna say lapwing a while back, but you got there anyway.

We had a flock of around 50 Waxwings pay us a visit a few days ago. Don’t get them in Derbyshire normally. I guess the shortage of food in their normal territory brought them in.

Managed a quick snap from the “home office” window.

(need to work out how to make my piccies bigger on here!)

Great pix Sharki.. Wheres your patch ?

Mary Hinge… NIce Waxwing.

Not my PIc.. Avonmouth, Bristol

I need a big lense.

Terrific posts sharki, love the lyrical touch with the writing. Top pic, as said, is a linnet. Used to get them around my way, but not recently. Out for a late afternoon walk near the river a couple of werks ago and had a snipe shoot past then a couple of skeins of lapwings flew over the houses behind me which was lovely to see. No waxwings around yet, sadly.

Haha thats Elgin, happy memories, Joanna’s! Thems were the days.

Or is it, cant remember now?

redthunder.

My location has been revealed. Indeed i’m near Elgin, North East Scotland.
And Joanna’s, i’ll look it up.

Waxwings have eluded my eye’s for years now. Though TBF my eye’s were mostly on the trails.

Right now, our wild life seems mostly in the feathered form.
With mammals becoming less mentioned.

Watch ya seen this year.

Me?

Nothing wild, other than the seals.

Show us the life out there.

Here’s a couple from last winter.

Just got my first Brambling of the year! Saw it under a tree in our garden!

Well chuffed!

Oh dear, this bird spotting thing is getting out of hand now!

It’s a good compromise between the adrenaline of riding, stresses of life and total relaxing amazement at the diversity and beauty of life.

Sharki – absolutely love your words and pics. More!

here here!

Aw thanks guys, but no need!

As i’ve spent 16hrs in bed today, i really ought to spank myself into a productive day tomorrow.

More will come, i’m not sure more of what though.

Perhaps a little Geographic/ Historic tale.