[fatneck]

Would have loved to have seen the Chough fight! Lots of angry Robins about...

Had a boss family walk at Parkgate on Sat with amazing views of SE Owls (including a fight between an Owl and a Kes!) as well as Marsh and Ringtail Hen Harrier. So cool to have these amazing birds almost on tap just half an hour away...

[bigironhorse]

 Spotted three song thrush fledglings today (two separate places) in Sheffield. Is that normal seems a bit early for chicks to be fledging?

[SA Chris]

Song thrush buried head first in snowdrift outside daughter's window. heard the bang, and had a look but it was definitely a gonner

[Johnny Brown]

Spotted three song thrush fledglings today (two separate places) in Sheffield. Is that normal seems a bit early for chicks to be fledging?

I would have said it is impossible. Are you sure it wasn't just adults fluffed up against the cold?

[bigironhorse]

Ha maybe. They had very fluffy feathers and didn't look that comfortable flying which is what made me think they could be fledglings. But as you say, it is probably more likely to be adults.

[Johnny Brown]

The cold may also make them exhibit unusually tame and seemingly naive behaviour. Reminds me, I'll bung some old apples out for them tonight.

[mark20]

Saw a bird of prey last weekend gliding up and down along the ridge of Turningstone etc. Similar shape to but a bit bigger than a kestrel, looked mainly white-ish and yes I'm sure it wasn't a seagul - peregrin?

[andy_e]

Highly likely. Mostly white underneath.

[nai]

The cold may also make them exhibit unusually tame and seemingly naive behaviour.

This morning a Blackbird had remembered where the seed was yesterday and dug into the snow to find it.  I keep clearing patches of snow and putting extra seed down, went out earlier and a Blackbird didn't budge, they'd normally be gone as soon as the door handle moved but I guess she was too hungry to care. Curiously though there's not much coming to the feeders, Sparrows are normally all over them but they're just rooting around in the hedge for seed fallen off the wall but not bothering with abundant seed, suet & nuts right in front of them, wonder if it's too just cold for them to be that exposed for long.

[SA Chris]

I'm sure it wasn't a seagull

Definitely not a seagull as there is no such bird.

[Johnny Brown]

The only whitish bird of prey that looks a bit like a seagull is a male hen harrier. They're very much moorland (and marsh) birds though, so Turningstone would be a unusual spot.

[lagerstarfish]

a bit of a treat last week for me and the athlete formerly known as Plattsy

in the Low Tatras, so probably not a pure Tatra chamois, but very nice to see

[fatneck]

First Chiffchaffs heard over the weekend and a Ringtail Hen Harrier on the moor above Shipley Glen on Sunday! Also a male Mandarin duck has appeared on my local park lake which is a first for the area...   

[SA Chris]

From my desk, I saw earlier and can confirm that fox are different to bears in that they shit in the middle of open fields...

[fatneck]

Cornwallian holiday provided excellent family views of Peregrine (sea cliffs) and Kingfisher (on site lake). Still to see my first Swallow!!!

[lagerstarfish]

a few swallows and house martins in Font

black redstarts in the garden of our gite

been treated to some brilliant, regular views of a male hen harrier hunting over the fields in the triangle between Milly, Malsherbes and Champmotteux

fairly sure I saw a female hen harrier between Milly and Cely (I was driving, but flight and wing movements said "harrier" and colour was not a male or a marsh)

[fatneck]

Good Font ticks Lagers!!!

[fatneck]

A pair of Mandarin Ducks have taken up residence on my local park lake...

[SamT]

been treated to some brilliant, regular views of a male hen harrier hunting over the fields in the triangle between Milly, Malsherbes and Champmotteux
fairly sure I saw a female hen harrier between Milly and Cely (I was driving, but flight and wing movements said "harrier" and colour was not a male or a marsh)

Ha - nice one.  I've never seen a Harrier (not a definite tick) and saw something over a field whilst driving south from Milly,
"flight and wing movements said "harrier" to me too, but I was also driving and it was the merest of glances. 

Glad to have my suspicions confirmed as being 'harrier', even if I'll never know if it were marsh or hen.

However my most coveted tick was a cuckoo.  Heard millions over the years, but never ever seen one.  The forest was full of the noisy buggers but again, no sighting.  However, I stopped and let every walk ahead on an evening walk.  Spent 10 mins getting closer to a big tree where I was convinced there was one giving it large.  No bins so not easy to see, but one actually flew in from somewhere else and after a lot of fluttering about - the pair of them actually gave it a bit of "cuckoo" so to speak.  Then they both flew right over my head.  Mega.

Made up for the fact I'd torn my hamstring in my knee on the first day resulting in a game over for climbing situation. 
Only tick of the week, and it wasn't in 7+8  >:

[fatneck]

Only time I ever saw a Cuckoo was in Font - nice one!

Saw my first House Martin of the year yesterday after ticking a swallow of the year list a couple of weeks ago...

[tlr]

Ha, good coincidence - got my first semi-decent view of a cuckoo last night up on the moors. Crap shot, but its all I got as it was shooting very low and fast over the heather being harried by Meadow Pipits. Looked like it was laying eggs I guess as it kept dropping into the heather for a while then coming back up and being chased on by the pipits.


IMGL9787 by Tim Russon, on Flickr

[SamT]

Yeah, totally rubbish shot   

I've always heard them in burbage and around.  Elusive buggers though.

Just seeing one was great, let alone capturing one on film, in focus.  Probably quite rare to see one from above too.

Nice.   

[SA Chris]

Mental.

Sorry.

[SamT]

Very pleased to see (and correctly identify) a Pied Flycatcher in the woods between Lawrencefield and Padley Gorge at the weekend.

[tlr]

Just had a good weekend up in Northumberland with a day out to the Farne Islands. Highly recommended, although perhaps a bit pricey if you aren't a National Trust member. The Artic Attack Terns are something to behold, so maybe don't take really small kids...

IMGL0716 by Tim Russon, on Flickr

You can see why they recommend wearing a hat...

IMGL0978 by Tim Russon, on Flickr

IMGL1009 by Tim Russon, on Flickr

IMGL1022 by Tim Russon, on Flickr

IMGL1051 by Tim Russon, on Flickr

IMGL1053 by Tim Russon, on Flickr

IMGL1256 by Tim Russon, on Flickr

These Artic Tern pictures were taken with at 16mm!

IMG_9916 by Tim Russon, on Flickr

IMG_9876 by Tim Russon, on Flickr

IMG_9804 by Tim Russon, on Flickr