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Bernadette
Dec Member 2021

Bernadette

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Wilf said :


We have a mild winter in comparison to Scandinavia and many birds will fly over here for an easier time, when this happens en mass due to food shortage or other issue it is called an "eruption". I've heard talk of a poor year for nuts on mainland Europe and as such many jays have flown across.

Oh, that might explain why Mr B said we had a jay in the garden - I didn't see it though :(

I like reading this thread, but have just been a lurker. I am pretty bad at identifying birds - I do have books to look them up but by the time I find the book I have usually forgotten the finer details of the bird I saw, and so many seem to be quite similar.
One man's Truth is another man's Lie

26-Oct-2014 15:40:26

Wilf
Jul Member 2019

Wilf

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Could be! Shame you didn't see it though they are very colourful birds when you look at them and fun to watch. Very noisy when disturbed in woods too lol.

Things to try remember are size in comparison to a bird you know well

such as:

similar to a robin

like a blackbird

woodpigeon size


then any colours at all

and also where

so if you saw a bird that was small like a robin and had some yellow on it in your garden

you could narrow it down to great ***/blue *** and then if still unsure look out for it next time for more details such as colour of its head.

or if you got down to a very rare bird that is usually ***d somewhere totally different and one that is found fairy often go for the more likely one unless dead sure.

For instance a wagtail that was yellow all over could be a yellow wagtail but you might also think it looks like a citrine wagtail. Unless sure it was more likely to be a yellow one.


If out and about watching it is good practice to take a little notebook so you can make rough sketches and note down things about it: colour, size, how it feeds, how it moves. Pretty much anything at all. I admit I don't do this as much as I should!



Don't be shy about posting anything you've seen at all as I like to read it regardless and may be able to point you in the right direction, unless it is something I've never seen in which case I'll cry.

26-Oct-2014 15:56:27

Wilf
Jul Member 2019

Wilf

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Went up to a reservoir not long after that post to see if there were any whooper swans present. There wasn't, but I did see flock of starling numbering into the low hundreds (at a guess), a kestrel hunting and catching a vole/mouse and two pied wagtails all in the space of 5-10 minutes which wasn't bad.

26-Oct-2014 21:11:55

Wilf
Jul Member 2019

Wilf

Posts: 17,032 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Another university challenge with a round on birds!

Couldn't have got the answers without the example species though, but the species names were familiar.

They should have got the gulls instead they said ****

27-Oct-2014 21:02:43

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