bogey birds

[thebeard]

i'm sure this may have been covered before, but i thought i'd start a thread. what is the bird species that you always set out to see but never seem to come across?

i've always wanted to see a snipe, and even though they are relatively common, and there are areas near me where they are often seen, even down to a particular island at a local lake and a particular pond elsewhere, i still haven't managed to find one! will i ever see one?!?!

anyone else have that one that always gets away???

[Stinky Bob]

The list is too long, but at the moment its a Treecreeper, a guy who lives next to the church says he saw one in the churchyard which is a bit of a bummer as I walk through there everyday and never seen anything, so at the moment I spend even more time there, I am sure the neighbour's who already think "I'm not all there" are now worried that I am going to dig up the some of their relatives

[darrenm]

my bogey bird in recent years in Nottinghamshire is the Corn Bunting and populations like a lot of other parts of the country seemed to have really hit rock bottom or totally crashed in large parts of the County. I have seen them at places like Gringley Carr a few winters running but this last winter failed to find any on a few visits but this may have been down to the very cold weather on each occasion, the birds themselves on that site might also be birds from elsewhere and that just over winter there. Only a few decades ago the Corn Bunting was a common sight on farmland along the Trent Valley from Stoke Bradolph through to Fiskerton and beyond towards Newark but now you would be hard pushed to find any along that stretch other than the odd wintering bird.

If you want Common Snipe in Nottinghamshire try during September and October at Netherfield Lagoons on the shoreline of the slurry lagoon but you will normally need a decent scope to locate them unless the water levels are low and they will then sometimes feed out along front of the large reed bed in low light conditions. Be aware they are very well camoflauged against reed beds on this site when roosting and unless you know they are there it can be very easy to overlook them. If you go on a Sunday morning during that time you will also most likely bump into members of the local Wildlfe group that records the bird life on the site and they will be happy to point you in the right direction.

[Guinnessman1974]

For me, I've never seen a Whitethroat which might seem strange as I've seen all the other 'common or garden' warblers, even Wood and Dartford Warblers!

Other are Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers and Willow Tits, which I really want to see soon.

I find with TreeCreepers, if you go looking for them then you won't seen them! I have usually tended to see them by accident when looking for and watching other birds. They tend to frequent woodland edges I find. So, if you go looking along woodland edges and alongside fields etc. you will have more luck. Good luck!

[darrenm]

where abouts do you live Guinessman? maybe someone in your area may have some local tips to help you find the species you are after.

A good place to search for Common Whitethroat is on any open area of land that has been a bit negelected and they like large patches of Nettles and mixed scrub vegitation for breeding in. In my local area they tend to favour the large garvel pit complexes that still have areas that havnt been managed to death yet. On the Lincolnshire coast they seem to like Sea Buckthorn and more overgrown the better but they often give their presence away with their very distinctive song and display flights during the breeding season.

We are also lucky that we have a few pairs of Willow Tit on one local site still but even they can be very,very elusive to track down at times and find it is best to get to know their call which again is very distinctive.

Sadly Willow Tit and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker appear to have been in a very steep decline in a lot of areas but both species can also be overlooked. Hopefully they turn up for you soon.

[AshLee]

The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker is one of mine.

Having said that, possibly not for long. I have just heard of a reliable ( ) spot for seeing them near Ricky, and we are planning to go there tomorrow.

So whaddya reckon?

Will tomorrow be the golden day? The day our bogey bird () finally becomes our boogie bird ()?

Or will it be the "OH BVGGER" bird () YET AGAIN?

[aeshna5]

Penduline Tit is my UK bogey bird (seen them in Europe)- have been at Rainham + Dungeness several times when they've been around but dipped. Also missed them at Titchwell + Tresco.

[darrenm]

dipped on a Penduline Tit at Attenborough a year or so back by five mins and stood shivering looking at Frozen reedbeds with another 35+ birders on that bitter frost laden afternoon just in case it came back.....it didnt..... but got to see some crippling photos of it and few mates who had been lucky really rubbed it in by saying very loudly what a stonking bird it had been!!!.....grrrrrrrrr!!! It would have been my first for Notts but it was my own stupidity in trying to rely on public transport on a busy Saturday lunchtime to get to the site. In my notebook for that period it is full of large swear words for that day and all underlined.....oh well you can get em all and had to make do with decent view's of a Merlin instead.

Have managed to see them at Titchwell and Rainham but they were fairly brief views and it is a bird i will be prepared to twitch if one turns up again locally again....erm i never said that

Now if a Black Woodpecker turns up...........

[Adam Cheeseman]

Top of my list at the moment, based on how many times I've missed them, are: Penduline Tit and Baird's Sandpiper.

[david156]

Originally Posted by Adam Cheeseman

Top of my list at the moment, based on how many times I've missed them, are: Penduline Tit and Baird's Sandpiper.

ARRRRRHHHHHHHH. The dreaded Penduline Tit. Many miles and much money and still haven't seen one yet!

David

p.s. Got Baird's last year at Hickling