A couple of better shots of todays 1st record of Large Tortoiseshell for Lytchett Bay (these from my camera rather than my phone!!)
Occasionally you get lucky taking flight shots with a bridge camera. Just to show its not impossible..... Long staying Ad Little Gull showing well at Lytchett Bay this morning. Its a beaut. #Dorsetbirds
That is a cruel cruel blow. Well done Mick. Very tough to take and even tougher on Ian who has run the feeding station for 3+ years. Hope it's there tomorrow for him and Friday for me 😲🤞
Home after an amazing time in wonderful Japan. I said it before and I will say it again. Where did we go wrong? The last part of our trip was around Tokyo and included a trip out to the Izu Islands. A must do at this time of year for the chance of an albatross spectacular on the return ferry.
Is this the biggest ever single species count on eBird? Gobsmacking photos of an estimated 2.75M Snow Geese in North Dakota (HT @evornithology.bsky.social)
ebird.org/checklist/S2...
Visit to eastern Hokkaido complete. The weather and temperatures were on the whole very kind. Seeing the eagles on the drift ice is one of THE wildlife spectacles of our amazing planet. Life is very tough up here in winter so the birding was all about quality rather than quantity.
The Woodpecker Network is encouraging birders to detect Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers by using passive acoustic sound recorders:
And my last Kyushu post goes to another town embracing & protecting "their" iconic species. Reminded me of home & the work done by @harbourbirds.bsky.social in making Poole & Osprey two words that lie expectedly in the same sentence. Kadogawa & Japanese Murrelet. This vulnerable alcid is celebrated.
The real draw in Kyushu for a birder are the Cranes, c14,000 of them wintering around Izumi alone. 6 species were possible, we found 5. Missing the single Demoiselle that is somewhere in the feeding flocks. In addition to a single figure number of Common here are the others.....
Our time in Kyushu, Japan has come to an end. Loved it all. Nagasaki memorial 😥,Great weather and some tremendous birding.
Fab morning @careyssecretgarden.bsky.social Migration Festival Part Two
Had a chance to learn more about bird ringing with @harbourbirds.bsky.social & hear from Chris Packham & Megan McGubbin about bird slaughter in Malta & Cyprus & recent work against North Dorset Hunt
www.operationdeadair.org
Mammals in Honshu were thin on the ground but quality was high. The Japanese Macaque (aka Snow Monkeys) might be a tourist bun fight but they are unmissable and a lot of fun. Japanese Serow and Japanese Racoon Dog were more surprising and very welcome.
End of Honshu (Japan) leg, part 1. Super enjoyable. Safe, friendly, clean, efficient, respectful country. Where did we go wrong? Birding has been lovely with lots of palearctic migrants. Almost all target species seen. Copper Pheasants (no pics 😥), Crested Ibis, Japanese Waxwings chief among them.
Lovely piece Gavin. Have only visited once. In 1997 I had a meeting in London but was travelling with a colleague who wasn't a birder. He wasn't impressed when I said we had to set off at dawn to see a Wilson's Phalarope at Staines on the way. He refused to get out of the car while I twitched it 🤣
Early days in Japan & wasn't expecting so much snow so soon. Special to seen this iconic species though. Well worth the trip out to Sado. #CrestedIbis now doing incredibly well having been rescued from Japanese extinction with re-introduction project. The whole island has embraced their return.
BREAKING: A Gamekeeper has pleaded guilty in England’s first-ever Hen Harrier persecution case.
Covert video and audio gathered lawfully by the RSPB Investigations team has helped expose the deliberate targeting of a Hen Harrier, leading to a landmark guilty plea:
www.rspb.org.uk/whats-happen... 👈
There are few Baikal Teal (Sibirionetta formosa 花脸鸭 Huāliǎn yā) wintering at the Yellow River estuary in Shandong Province. Photo by "菜小hua". #birds #china #yellowriver
Please spread this far and wide, as stories don't get much bigger than this. When the government blocks even the intelligence services from telling us we're heading for environmental catastrophe, you know we have a problem. A very big problem.
Thank you.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Tears of joy! SCOTLAND HAS JUST PASSED SWIFT BRICKS INTO LAW unanimously!
4 years of asking England & Scotland sorts it in a month led by ACE MARK RUSKELL MSP ♥️The RELIEF is unreal! Tell England to follow 🏴by emailing PlanningPolicyConsultation@communities.gov.uk now!WOOP!
Delighted to share the Lytchett Bay Bird and Wildlife Report for 2025. Thanks to @lytchettbirder.bsky.social for non-bird taxa, @harbourbirds.bsky.social for hosting & @markwright12002.bsky.social for cover pic. www.birdsofpooleharbour.co.uk/wp-content/u...
Raining so hard for the #Biggardenbirdwatch. Birds were heading for the Ark!! They came 2 by 2 😁 2x Blackcap, Firecrest, Bullfinch, Nuthatch, Great Spot Wood! Also more quality thanks to our regular Cettis 😁 #Dorsetbirds
We were at Lytchett Fields RLV on New Year's Eve and this Fox walked straight past the Marsh Harrier, feet away! They didn't seem interested in each other at all.
(Dodgy phone held up to scope photo)
@narwhalsh.bsky.social
@ianballam.bsky.social
@harbourbirds.bsky.social
#LytchettBay
Bearded Reedling in full splits position this morning at Lytchett Heath
Pretty chuffed to find a drake Smew at Brand's Bay, Poole Harbour this morning. c 30 secs later @moorebirdsbybike.bsky.social picked up its redhead mate nearby! First drake in Dorset since one on this exact date in 2008, apparently 😯. Enjoyed/ticked by many local birders.
@harbourbirds.bsky.social
Watching these beautiful Greater White-fronted Geese, hoping for the Tundra Bean Geese to arrive, and eventually they did! A lifer for me and 13th addition to my Dorset life list during 2025! Lytchett Bay WeBS on Sunday!
@harbourbirds.bsky.social
@dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social
#DorsetBirds
#ukbirding
A belated Christmas present from @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social has just arrived. Something to keep me busy reading in the coming days
If you would like a copy, there are some good memberships from DBC
Happy Birthday. Bean Geese would be a fine present. 🤞
Fine Christmas Eve on patch. Brilliant to see successful impact of partnership work to discourage recreational disturbance and protect roost on Turlin Point. 2 Spoonbill, 75 Avocet, 60 Oystercatcher, Wigeon and more benefiting. Merry Christmas to all followers, look forward to your nature stories 26
No. Buy the pictorial Poole Harbour tide tables from a chandler and remember to add 45 mins to Poole Quay tide time. Much more reliable. Just remember that rainfall, wind direction and air pressure can mean that predictions become meaningless. Especially on neap tides.
