Metamatic Forums Socialising The Green Room 2011 New Year birding Challenge

Inspired again. Four in two days. Including some must have (but no less amazing birds) like Kingfisher and Tawny Owl

http://birdingwithpassion.blog.com

I'm sure you've heard about this, Martin, but if not, get yourself down there now!!!

http://www.goingbirding.co.uk/hants/birdnews.asp?date_search=8&date=2011-03-22

http://www.simplybirding.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=171&t=36061

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Woke up this morning to the birds twittering (?) outside ... it must be Spring then.
:rolleyes:

We've just bought a special bird feeding construction for the garden. Be interesting to see if it attracts any new visitors.

Birds usually take a couple of days or so to get used to a new feeding station, being naturally wary creatures, but you'll soon reap the rewards. So much of their natural habitat is being destroyed by humans, I think it's only right that we give something back by providing a safe and reliable source of food. Our garden is tiny but in the 3¾ years we've lived here we've managed to attract 44 different species by putting out food on a daily basis.

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We have pet cats...

So do my neighbours. And my neighbours neighbours...

Thanks for the earlier links tho Bob - I subscribe and regularly post at the first one already! First for news on all the birds around.

Steadily moving forward now, and I picked up a Pheasant] today which lifts me to 89 species.
And I still have spring migrants to get, so I'm quietly confident now.

Maps and photos online in the ole blog:
http://birdingwithpassion.blog.com/

I was at the estuary near my home, and saw three Turnstones,cute little birds I only new them to be Turnstones by the prescence of some twitchers who said the bird is fairly unusual in the UK.

There is a very noisy Green Woodepecker behind my office, sounds like a Kookaburra!

Getting tantalisingly close now Martin, only 11 to go. We reached our 300 milestone and then some during our trip to The Great Karoo, Capetown and the West Coast, but that's not surprising since it's an area we have never birded before. Including the Black Faced Waxbill we picked up today on our drive back home from the Free State, we now stand at 316 for South Africa in just over three years. I think that puts into context what a huge achievement it will be to find 100 species within the limits of a single city in such a relatively short time!

John, one of the 'lifers' (i.e. new species for our list) we got on the West Coast was in fact the Ruddy Turnstone.

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Thanks for your encouragement Bob - and congrats on getting to 300. That's a very good UK year list total...

I'm just beginning to feel confident now. The next half dozen should be relatively easy to get - provided I can get out to the right places:

Wheatear
Sand Martin
Swallow
Willow Warbler
Whinchat
Whitethroat
Common Tern

All these beginning to migrate through Hampshire and return to their UK nesting grounds.
I just need to keep praying for patience!

Bird News of the day. And encouraging it is too!