Anti-Climax Feb 18

Forest of Dean Triple dipper.

Wern Ddu buzzard.

Travel birding pt 2 - New York

On our first morning in New York, with a smoked salmon and cream cheese bagel in hand for breakfast we headed up to Central Park, and there was good birding to be had everywhere I looked. Eating the first half of my bagel I clocked an American Robin, and was on to a coopers hawk perched up in a tree shortly after that, as I was alerted to what I thought were bird of prey cries. The noises turned out to be blue jays, which call relentlessly from everywhere in the park, but on that occasion it helped me to spot the Coopers, and give me a better insight into the differences with sharp shinned. I had my shots of the confusion species confirmed on an American birding forum, but they can be quite difficult sometimes judging from the discussions and photos online.  

Nearby, Jess clocked a male and female cardinal in the tree whilst Iooked at a pintail on the frozen pond.

I picked up an amazing male yellow-bellied sapsucker up in a tree at the Bethesda Terrace, and when I turned back to see him after photographing a nearby white-throated sparrow he had come down the tree giving amazing views.

Shortly after arriving at the rambles we came across an area by the pond where people had put down seed, and we saw a white-breasted nuthatch, and I also got a glimpse of a different woodpecker before it flew on. Unfortunately that was the last sighting of the woodie, so I was unable to tell which species it was, but I think it might well have been a red-bellied. I also saw American goldfinch, and at the Evodia Field feeders added tufted titmouse and a common grackle. Up at the reservoir I had wood ducks pointed out, and saw more hooded mergansers and buffleheads, though both were sleeping. I clocked a brown creeper, and also a perched red-tailed hawk which allowed some amazing close views. 

On the last day we took another trip up to Central Park, and I also added hermit thrush which gave amazing views, and managed some better shots of the blue jay and common grackle.   

Travel birding pt 1 - Iceland and Canada

Sunday 28th January saw us set-off on a brilliant travel holiday, taking in Iceland, Niagara Falls, and New York. Iceland was absolutely fantastic in terms of an experience and for scenery and waterfalls, but fairly light on the avian front, not that I was actively birding per say, but more taking advantage of the trip to see what incidentals I could pick up. The Iceland bird list pretty much went as follows – ptarmigan (from bus), whooper (Reykjavik), tufted duck, teal, greylag, snow bunting (Vik and Blue Lagoon), starling, house sparrow, peregrine (at Thingvellir - don’t think it was a gyrfalcon) fulmar, various gulls, redwing, and that seemed about it. I did also get a glimpse of some distant ducks from the tour bus which I would have loved to have double checked for harlequin or barrow’s if we were able to stop.    

We arrived into Toronto and shuttled to Niagara Falls where, after a long 30 hour day on Jess’ 30th, I plucked up some courage and proposed.  

When I woke up the next day I took in the Falls view from the hotel window. I could see lots of gulls in the swirl of the falls, and clocked a big bird of prey out over the water, which I’ve identified as being a red-tailed hawk from pictures. A walk up to Dufferin Islands revealed lots of mergansers, canvasback, as well as others like scaup, goldeneye, hooded merganser, bufflehead, ring-necked duck, and ring-billed gull (plenty of rings going on). 

 I also got great views of black-capped chickadee and an incredibly tame downy woodpecker. 

The next day I caught up with several dark-eyed junco in the same area as the downy, and a cardinal. It was freezing today, down to minus 10! The river was freezing over before our eyes, and as such it closed up a lot of the areas in which the waterfowl had been previously.  

Dufferin Islands were frozen over and didn’t reveal as many birds as I had hoped but also added American Black Duck for me, and we saw a sharp-shinned hawk on the way back down.