Daddy Long Legs

Pholcus phalangiodes aka Daddy Long Legs 

 

Found one of these in the obs this morning. An obs tick. It was encounters with these chaps when I was kid that triggered my interest in nature. Although the nature of that interest was not quite the same as it is today. I have even wrote a song about that : https://soundcloud.com/#peter-alfrey/09-daddy-long-legs

Fungi sp? Answers please?

Big Garden Birdwatch Weekend

Reed Bunting at Beddington 

Natural History Museum- currently hosting Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition 

Caspian Gull at Beddington 

Little Egret at The Grove, Carshalton 

Blue Tit on the Big Garden Birdwatch 

Fieldfare and Redwing on The Grove playing fields

 

Spent Saturday morning helping out the Sutton Biodiversity Team with a Big Garden Birdwatch event, Saturday afternoon at the farm with the ringers and Sunday went to the Natural History Museum (the nerve centre) to have a look at the Wildlife Photography of the Year Competition.  Here's a jumble of weekend pics.

Caspian Gull

Adult Caspian Gull

 

 

 

A bit of movement today- Fieldfares, a few Lapwings. Adult Caspian Gull again. Derek and Roy had a walk about- 4 Jack Snipe, 5 Green Sandpiper, 1 Stonechat, 70+ Linnet and about 15 Snipe. The Maned Duck is still around too.

More snow coming so will be intersting to see what happens. 

Beddington in the Freezer

Skylark- over 100 flew west/ northwest today

Adult Med. Also saw adult Caspian today and Frankie had a 1st winter Caspian too

View over Northern Lake

The cold weather continues and today Fieldfares, Skylarks and a few Redwings were on the move. We had over 500 Fieldfare, 100 Skylark and a handful of Redwings. Also 100+ Linnet on the mound.

A few of Dodge's pics from this cold spell: http://dodge007.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/good-few-days.html

Nice Fieldfare shots from Lee: http://www.leedingain.com/2013/01/fieldfares-on-move.html

Snow Patrol

Red Kite

Male Kestrel

 

Juvenile Peregrine

 

Raptors on patrol in the snow were the highlight of the day. We had Red Kite, Short-eared Owl (I missed it), Peregrine, 2 Kestrel and Sparrowhawk. The Peregrine was going after a Snipe. Still a bit of vis mig today including a Grey and a Golden Plover. Not as much moving as yesterday.

Hard Times

Golden Plovers heading South

First-winter Glaucous Gull

Lapwings- several hundred on the move over the last couple of days

Jack Snipe- 3-4 about

Hard weather watchers

Adult female Maned Duck- an Australian species

This cold weather has produced some interesting vis mig over Beddington. Rarest bird has been a female Maned Duck which has presumably been frozen out of it's collection.

Sightings from the last couple of days here: www.beddingtonfarmlands.org.uk

Been discussing today whether the birds are moving over London on flights lines or broad fronts. This is what is going on about five miles to the south-west: : http://devilbirder.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/snow-birds.html



Inner London Day Trip

Hyde Park Beardies

Kensington Gardens waterfowl

Dingers and Martin Honey (Lepidoptera curator at NHM)

The Cacoon- 12 million entomological specimens stored here

Lee had discovered an unidentified moth while working in the Brazilian rain forest so we took some photos of it to the Natural History Museum to see if we could find it in the specimen collection. With the help of the museum curator we managed to identify it and Lee is going to do some more investigation to see if it has been recorded in that area before.

On the way to the museum we stopped off at the Beardies in Hyde Park. Good to see Hyde Park Gaurdian Des McKenzie,  and also quite a good selection of waterfowl on the Serpentine including quite a few Shoveler.

More on today from Lee here:

 http://www.leedingain.com/2013/01/moth-research-at-natural-history-museum.html

Azores Pelagic Expedition 2013- Monteiro's Petrel, Azores Bullfinch, Endemics, Azores Seabirds, Cetaceans and Whale Shark

Swinhoe's Petrel, Bank of Fortune, August 2012

Zino's Petrel, Bank of Fortune, August 2012 (Harro Muller)

Monteiro's Petrel, Graciosa August 2012. Identified by moult of inner primaries- characteristic of hot season breeding birds at end of breeding season

Presumed Grant's Petrel, Graciosa, August 2012- identified by fresh plumage with brown tones. Juvenile Monteiro's Petrel would also be in fresh plumage in late summer but the plumage tone is darker and the tail fork generally more pronounced

Barolo's Shearwater, May 2010, Graciosa. Also seen on 2011 and 2012 summer pelagics.

Wilson's Petrel, 2011 (Richard Bonser)

Wilson's Petrel 2009

Loggerhead Turtle- commonly encountered

Blue Shark

Sperm Whale

Common Dolphin (Gareth Knass)

MORE FROM PREVIOUS TRIPS HERE:

http://azoresnature.co.uk/?page_id=15

2013 ITINERARY

AZORES ENDEMICS, SEABIRDS, VAGRANTS, CETACEANS AND WHALE SHARK EXPLORATION

Azores Bullfinch Extension

Saturday 31st August

Arrive Sao Miguel

Sunday 1st September 

Azores Bullfinch twitch and Sao Miguel birding. Evening flight to Terceira

Arrive Tercira

Graciosa Pelagics

Monday 2nd September

Cabo da Praia Quarry for yank waders in morning and then Ferry crossing to Graciosa in afternoon

Tuesday 3rd September

Graciosa Pelagic

Wednesday 4th September

Graciosa Pelagic

Thursday 5th September

Graciosa Pelagic

Friday 6th September

Morning pelagic and then flight to either home or Santa Maria for Whale Shark trip

Whale Shark Trip

Saturday 7th September

Santa Maria Pelagic in search of Whale Shark and seabirds

Sunday 8th September

Santa Maria Pelagic

Monday 9th September

Santa Maria Pelagic

Tuesday 10th September

Santa Maria Pelagic

Wednesday 11th September

Depart Santa Maria

COSTS

Terceira and Graciosa Pelagic, 1st to 6th September for Monteiro's and 'Grant's Petrel' , seabirds and cetaceans 

£688 not including international flight

Sao Miguel (Azores Bullfinch), Terceira and Graciosa Pelagic as above, 31st August to 6th September

£1282 including international flight

£988 not including international flight

Whale Shark Exploration Trip

£600 in additon to one of above options

To book a place please contact Ian at Azores Choice:  ian@azoreschoice.com

Places are limited to 10-12 people on a first come first serve basis.

Rotherhithe and Beyond

River View 

The most confiding Shoveler I've ever seen- in Southwark Park

Pochard

'Northern' Herring Gull

Rich B, John A and an incinerator pretty similar to what we are going to get at Beddington

 

Met up with Richard http://rothandb.blogspot.co.uk/ today to have a look round his patch around the old Surrey Docks, Crossness and Dartford. We dipped on Waxwings, Caspian Gull and Med Gull but had a handful of Yellow-legged Gulls and good to meet up and see the birding sites on this part of the Thames.

Went to Beddington yesterday and saw bugger all there too.



Iceland and Glauc

Glaucous Gull

Iceland Gull

 

Its not everyday that you get both of these Arctic Gulls together so today was pretty good. Stayed out with Roy to watch the roosting flocks come and go. About 15-20,000 gulls, 2000+ Jackdaw, 2000+ Ring-necked Parakeet and a few hundred Starling.