Bird of the day!

[Kayleigh]

Great pics John..I think you have a knack of being in right place at the right time..

[John]

Thanks kayleigh. Mind you I knew the bird was there. It has been there for a reported 6 weeks so I was on a relatively safe bet to see it.

John

Originally Posted by Kayleigh

Great pics John..I think you have a knack of being in right place at the right time..

[mrs fish]

They are very good photos John of a very smart looking bird

[badgerwatcher]

Great photos, John.

[Pete Collins]

Not a great photo, but this Red Kite was definitely my Bird of the Day as I spotted it from the back garden. I've been waiting for a couple of years for Red Kites to reach this part of the Chilterns. I've seen them nearby occasionally (closest sighting was a mile or so away at Whipsnade), but this was the first time I've seen one in my home village. It's a wildlife ambition achieved, and I'm dead chuffed!

[Deer Stalker]

Didn't expect to see this one, but my bird of the day is a Great Grey Shrike in the New Forest this afternoon.

It perched on top of a group of old Beech trees on some heathland & I managed to get this rather dodgy shot of it.

[Kayleigh]

Originally Posted by Pete Collins

Not a great photo, but this Red Kite was definitely my Bird of the Day as I spotted it from the back garden. I've been waiting for a couple of years for Red Kites to reach this part of the Chilterns. I've seen them nearby occasionally (closest sighting was a mile or so away at Whipsnade), but this was the first time I've seen one in my home village. It's a wildlife ambition achieved, and I'm dead chuffed!

You can't beat seeing birds of prey from your back garden..A kite at that..We get buzzards over ours but they are so high its impossible to photograph them..

[Gaina]

On Thursday I was in Newcastle and saw a black-headed gull in summer plumage (surely it's a bit early!?).

Then when we were driving back today, when we got just past Donnington Park Dad and I saw a large stocky bird of prey that looked like an Eagle Owl. The bird briefly flew parallel to the car but we couldn't quite see it's head. The wing shape and heavy body were, however distinctive.

Have their been any Eagle Owl sightings around that area?

[John]

Hi Gaina

I have been seeing B H Gulls in summer plumage since December.

Regarding the Eagle Owls. You may have seen one as I think there are more around than we think. I know there has been one for a while about 25 miles from me but I can't find out where. Your local County Recorder might help you or perhaps one of our North East members might know.

John

Originally Posted by Gaina

On Thursday I was in Newcastle and saw a black-headed gull in summer plumage (surely it's a bit early!?).

Have their been any Eagle Owl sightings around that area?

[pressld2]

My bird of the day yesterday was the humble blackbird. Although a contender for the title of Britain's commonest bird, I have always found it quite tricky to get photos of them in their natural environment. They tend to stay in the undergrowth in woods were the light levels are not too great. I can get them on my lawn in the summer just by turning a sprinkler on but have always hankered after a decent shot in the woods. Had a nice and obliging male pose for me yesterday at Lessness Abbey. He was a pretty confident individual and didn't take much notice of the walkers or their dogs...



I'm particularly pleased with these as all black (or all white) birds can make getting the correct exposure a nightmare. Here there's a good amount of feather detail but without an overexposed background.

Dave P.

P.s. thanks to Graham (glsammy) for sorting out the uploads. I managed to get into a bit of a mess with the original uploads of these and think I duplicated them as well as corrupting them!