Read on Twitter
So, feeling in the mood to celebrate and be thankful for the amazing times that birds have given me over the last 50 years, here's a daily thread until 21 February (if I remember to do it...) of #50BirdingMoments
Thanks to @TomCadwallender's daily photos for the inspiration
Thanks to @TomCadwallender's daily photos for the inspiration
My earliest recollection was on the banks of the Dee Estuary, the frantic piercing whistle that Grandpa told four year old me was the 'Sentinel of the Marshes'.
Ten years later, @BarryBarnacal let me write about it. The first thing I ever had published.
#50BirdingMoments no.1
Ten years later, @BarryBarnacal let me write about it. The first thing I ever had published.
#50BirdingMoments no.1
A formative experience was being taken out to Hilbre to spend a high-tide cycle birdwatching on the islands. Eight year old me was blown away by the sight of thousands of roosting waders.
The team based at @RSPB_BurtonMere do a fantastic job of managing a big chunk of the Dee for nature. Prior to 1979, it had little protection and there were multiple threats - including a land reclamation proposal to plant tulips. It'll always be a special place to me.
Needed some sunshine memories today so thought back to a wonderful trip to South Africa in 2010. We'd only been in #Bontebok @SANParks a few minutes, when this Secretarybird stomped across the grassland. And I mean stomped.
#50BirdingMoments no.2
#50BirdingMoments no.2
A lizard, snake or rodent wouldn't have stood a chance. Wasn't sure what it might do to the roof of the hire car either. The body of an eagle and the legs of a crane on steroids. A memorable start to our trip. #50BirdingMoments
In 2007, I did some work in Japan, and spoke at their national biodiversity conference in Okinawa, which gave me the opportunity to see one of the world's rarest birds, the near-flightless and globally endangered Okinawa Rail. And that is no.3 of my #50BirdingMoments
There are only around 700 in the world, all in subtropical Yamburu forest. We saw 14 in an hour, in pouring rain under the darkness of the canopy. Hence my only photo is the traffic sign to warn drivers to travel slow. Good advice for all... #50BirdingMoments
There are some birds you see in books as a kid that you just know you want to see for real if the opportunity arises. Gyr Falcon was one of those for me. I'd missed 'the dot on the rock' at Wembury in 1998, so I wasn't going to forego a second chance... #50BirdingMoments no.4
This was at Pentire Head in March 2000, and the bird was perched just 60 yards away. It dropped off a ledge, gave a full-face flypast and hung in the air, ignoring the grief from the local Herring Gulls.
Then the territorial male Peregrine arrived... #50BirdingMoments
Then the territorial male Peregrine arrived... #50BirdingMoments
The Peregrine looked diddy compared to the Arctic monster, which repeatedly dive-bombed the Gyr. We watched the aerial combat for 40 minutes according to my notebook. Memorable!
the late George Reszeter (from the days you'd buy rarity prints out of the boot of a car)
the late George Reszeter (from the days you'd buy rarity prints out of the boot of a car)
No.5 of my #50BirdingMoments is a bird that I seem always close to. As a teenager, counting Cormorants was the first regular bird survey I did, cycling to Rhos Point to count birds passing through Liverpool Bay, usually in the freezing cold (at least, that's how I remember it).
When I lived in Cambridgeshire, my local patch was #PaxtonPits, one of the first places that Cormorants nested inland. I loved monitoring the breeding colony and winter roost over 15 years. Over 1,000 would roost there some nights. #50BirdingMoments
Now back in #NorthWales, I can walk to what was until recently the largest Cormorant breeding colony in Wales, on the Little Orme. The sound and smell of busy cliffs in spring is unbeatable - I can sit and watch these birds for hours...
(This photo is from Paxton, however)
(This photo is from Paxton, however)
To Chile, a country I fell in love with instantly for its mind-blowing landscapes, wonderful people and brilliant birds. Torrent Duck, which paddle against the fast-flowing meltwater from the Andes, is just one of those. #50BirdingMoments no.6.
Gardens are where many of us make our first connections with wildlife. No.7 of my #50BirdingMoments is from 1995, when we relaunched a 'little' YOC Garden Bird Survey as the @Natures_Voice #BigGardenBirdWatch.
Birdwatching Chancellor Ken Clarke invited a local school...
Birdwatching Chancellor Ken Clarke invited a local school...
and @CBBCMemories #BluePeter to the garden of 10/11 Downing Street. I really can't remember what birds we saw, but KC was brilliant. As was PM John Major who invited everyone into the Cabinet Room for a chat.
This years #BGBW is in three weeks - sign up! https://www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved/activities/birdwatch/
This years #BGBW is in three weeks - sign up! https://www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved/activities/birdwatch/
Arriving late in the evening at an apartment in Tenerife, we took the complimentary bottle of red onto the balcony to enjoy the evening air - which we found was alive with the weird calls of Cory's Shearwaters. When daylight came, there were hundreds in the bay. #50BirdingMoments
If you've never heard a Cory's Shearwater call, listen here https://www.xeno-canto.org/565396 . Seabirds rock!
