Metamatic Forums Socialising The Green Room 2011 New Year birding Challenge

I know - great, isn't it!!

I am on a kingfisher hunt this week. Sadly both spots on the river near me where I have seen them occasionally this winter haven't turned up the goods yet...

Think yourself lucky you only have one species of Kingfisher to hunt for over there. There are about ten different species over here and some of them are very difficult to find. I'm still after the African Pygmy Kingfisher and Half Collared Kingfisher for my list.

I recently read about the new Canon SX30 digital camera which apparently has an optical zoom equivalent to 24 - 840mm!! That's 20x optical zoom, which seems remarkable for a digital camera. I'd be tempted to sell my kit and buy one of those if it's true, as my 70 - 300mm zoom is sometimes inadequate for smaller birds at a distance.

One of the advantages of photographing them is when you come across something you can't identify. There are loads of great forums where you can post your photos and get advice from other birders on how to ID some of the trickier species. You should see some of the debates that rage on Simply Birding over the identification of Pipits!

How's the challenge coming along, Martin? Birding in the winter can't be easy with all the cold weather you guys have been having recently so kudos to you for giving it a go!

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Oh the feathered avian variety My inner "Sid The Sexist" was expecting something else there ! The best I can do is The Eagles and an Emu (sans Rod Hull natch )

Nice one Martin

Even as an erstwhile country-boy, sadly I know little about ornothology so I'm enjoying your blog...

[I must admit "A quick Shag at Town Quay" caught my eye .. ]

BTW be careful when talking about "uccelli" to an Italian ..

Good luck with the challenge Martin, and its fascinating to learn that there are so many birders on the forum, (at least now we have a thread).

I just posted another 'session' on the blog.

With photos (not mine) and maps (mine) and all that malarky.

Thanks for following guys

http://birdingwithpassion.blog.com

Excellent report, Martin, and what a pleasure it must have been to see the deer at such close range, one of those nice little bonuses that turn up now and again on birding trips. I was surprised to hear that Bullfinch are so uncommon down there, I used to get them in my back garden in Edinburgh every autumn / winter so I assumed they were quite a common bird. My nemesis was the Goldfinch, only saw them in my garden three times in four years.

Keep at it, I'm confident you're going to get your 100 species by the end of the challenge!

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Great stuff Martin. Interesting read. Talking of Bullfinches, I used to see them quite regularly where I live,Liverpool,but haven't seen one for years. Are they generally less common these days I wonder,or perhaps just round here?

Bullfinches have declined dramatically in ten years. On a par with Skylark, Lapwing and Tree Sparrow.

67 today.

read on, Macduff

http://birdingwithpassionblog.com

You're doing really well, with 67 under your belt already. You mentioned not hearing the call of the Tawny Owl and it got me wondering whether or not you tick birds you have heard but not seen. When I go out birding, I will put birds I only heard on my list for the day, but will not add them to my 'lifelist' if they're ones I've never seen before. This is why it took me two years to get Pearl Spotted Owlet on my list, because we hear one calling in the vlei (marsh) next to our housing complex almost every night, but it's always after dark so we never see it. It was only last winter when we spent a day in the Kruger National Park that we actually saw and photographed one in daylight.

So, if you hear the Tawny Owl, will it go on your challenge list or do you have to see it? Just curious.

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