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johnalison

johnalison

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A pair of yellow wagtails yesterday. I have seen them before but not for a long while, among the throng of pied wagtails. They are like little balls of sunshine.

Summer is not always very rewarding around here, but I saw the Sandwich terns patrolling the channel at Stone Point the other day. If you haven't picked them out, they are the noisy ones that make a sound that famously imitates a dental amalgam being pushed into place.P1090536 copy.jpg
 
Johnalison,

This is the nicest post I have seen on this or any forum!!!!

Sadly I struggle to see the wildlife in my hectic sailing, let alone photograph it, and so well.

I saw a troop of geese tramping through the mud in Stangate Creek at dusk on my last outing, that was nice. And a mean seal observed me getting stuck in the mud of the Swale near Milton Creek, I didn't appreciate that so much, he seemed to have found the only bit of water deep enough to float a dinghy.
 
You're very kind, but I'm no expert. I just like to enlarge my range of knowledge. Wildlife is such an obvious part of our local scene that I am always surprised at those who are indifferent to it. I tend to think that it is disappointing to have an outing without at least one sighting, if only the swallows around the marina or a seal's head popping up nearby. Perhaps you should take some time from the hecticity of your sailing to keep an eye on things.

I have sometimes been surprised and ashamed at finding that there are creatures or even plants of interest that have escaped my notice until either they were pointed out to me or were staring me in the face. The Sandwich terns were an example. I was shown them on a boat trip in the Isles of Scilly, and was then amazed to see them also on my way home in Salcombe, and, as a final insult, in Harwich harbour.
 
Yes you're right, I need to do more loitering, I always intend to, but it rarely happens.
I make ambitious plans, and as soon as they are achieved or aborted, I start thinking of getting back on the tide...
I'm sailing as crew with an older skipper for two weeks in August on the W.Coast so hopefully there'll be a gentler schedule giving me more time to "stand and stare".
 
seivadnehpets said:
Yes you're right, I need to do more loitering, I always intend to, but it rarely happens.
I make ambitious plans, and as soon as they are achieved or aborted, I start thinking of getting back on the tide...
I'm sailing as crew with an older skipper for two weeks in August on the W.Coast so hopefully there'll be a gentler schedule giving me more time to "stand and stare".
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I'm probably being patronising, but do take a bird book with you. You might see Manx or Mediterranean shearwaters around Berry Head, as well as rock pipits and the odd puffin around the coast, and I trust that the dolphins will pay you a visit too. Good sailing.
 
johnalison said:
I'm probably being patronising, but do take a bird book with you. You might see Manx or Mediterranean shearwaters around Berry Head, as well as rock pipits and the odd puffin around the coast, and I trust that the dolphins will pay you a visit too. Good sailing.
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We have a bird here in Ibiza I cannot recall seeing in the UK. It looks very much like a small pigeon, but it has mostly brown wings. Have you any idea what it is?
 
DavidofMersea said:
We have a bird here in Ibiza I cannot recall seeing in the UK. It looks very much like a small pigeon, but it has mostly brown wings. Have you any idea what it is?
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I've only been to the Med once and my Europe bird book is on the boat, so nothing comes to mind. It's either a pigeon/dove or it isn't, so more information would be needed. I presume your bird is between a thrush and a pigeon in size, and that you would know if it were a hoopoe.
 
johnalison said:
I've only been to the Med once and my Europe bird book is on the boat, so nothing comes to mind. It's either a pigeon/dove or it isn't, so more information would be needed. I presume your bird is between a thrush and a pigeon in size, and that you would know if it were a hoopoe.
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Yes, I would say the size was between a thrush and pigeon, it was nothing like a hoopoe, it just looks like a little pigeon wiith mostly light brown wings

Yesterday evening I was on the beach and someone (Not me) had left some bread on the beach about 5 feet from where I was sitting. There was a seagull hanging around, plucking up courage to get to the bread. The mystery bird came close, and closer and the seagull took courage from this bird and came towards the bread behind the bird. So this bird is braver than a seagull
 
I think that anyone would need just a little more help than 'brown wings'. Is the body and perhaps head grey or some other shade? Is the tail long/short/striped? Is the beak straight/long/short/hooked? Is there a stripe through the eye etc? We need to be told, as they say.
 
There's a wide range of butterflies and moths along the embankments; I once saw a cinnabar moth there (no photo, I'm afraid). They're pretty spectacular - a real blood red colour.

Oh - there's also rabbits and hares; our Jack (6.5kg mixed breed, mainly Yorkshire Terrier, Dachshund and Poodle!) startled one once! But in a race between a rabbit and Jack, Jack isn't going to win.
 
johnalison said:
I'm probably being patronising, but do take a bird book with you. You might see Manx or Mediterranean shearwaters around Berry Head, as well as rock pipits and the odd puffin around the coast, and I trust that the dolphins will pay you a visit too. Good sailing.
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Not patronising, I hadn't thought of a book, I'll look one out now.
 
DavidofMersea said:
Yes, I would say the size was between a thrush and pigeon, it was nothing like a hoopoe, it just looks like a little pigeon wiith mostly light brown wings

Yesterday evening I was on the beach and someone (Not me) had left some bread on the beach about 5 feet from where I was sitting. There was a seagull hanging around, plucking up courage to get to the bread. The mystery bird came close, and closer and the seagull took courage from this bird and came towards the bread behind the bird. So this bird is braver than a seagull
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Turtle dove?
 
Chalk said:
I use the Collins Bird Guide App. It's not free, but then why would it be? It's very very good.
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So I have heard, but my phone isn't up to it. It would be their version of the Collins Field Guide, which is far and away the best, though I also have an RSPB guide to British birds which is also good but bulkier.
 
johnalison said:
I think that anyone would need just a little more help than 'brown wings'. Is the body and perhaps head grey or some other shade? Is the tail long/short/striped? Is the beak straight/long/short/hooked? Is there a stripe through the eye etc? We need to be told, as they say.
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The body/head/tail/beak are all like a pigeon, except the bird is a little smaller than a pigeon, and it has mostly light brown wings. I am wondering if it is just a growing baby pigeon
 
I fairly recently discovered, and have been surprised by the Android app "BirdNet". You record the bird's song on your phone and it tells you what it is, with a rating from "almost certain" to "wild guess". If you're out of phone range you can save the recording and submit to identify later. It works remarkably well, although I've only used it for woodland birds so far, so I guess it's possible that wind noise on the phone mic might sometimes be more of a problem in the open on the coast
It's free, and by a part of Cornell university....I think what they get out of it is a whole load of data about what birds are where.

Cornell also seem to have a visual bird id app called Merlin, which I haven't tried yet but which scores highly in reviews.
 
I seem to recall from my distant rural Essex upbringing that Squab Pie was a seasonal delicacy, along with Rook Pie. We had a large rookery in the wood in front of the house and they culled them annually when the young were old enough to leave the nest but not yet flying so were easy targets.
 
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