Author: galtrym

We’re having a week in Zambia to a) celebrate the fact that Karen has just turned 50, b) celebrate the fact that I’m still only 49 ( for 5 more weeks) and c) have another go at finding a Leopard. This is our fifth attempt, so as time goes by without a sighting, the tension is sure to mount…

… until 6:50 on our first morning, when we encountered this stunning Leopard up a tree – it gave us the full show.  On then to more fun with some stunning Southern Carmine Bee-eaters.  Has there ever been a more beautiful trash bird?

Some fairly low res shots here, as uploading in our lodge is a bit slow.

Another work trip, this time to Minnesota, gave me a chance to do some birding on a glorious Sunday.  Quite a lot had gone south already, but there were hundreds of American Robins and Myrtle Warblers passing through, with flocks of Cedar Waxwings and Ruby-crowned Kinglets everywhere.

A Red-bellied Woodpecker was my 4000th world species, and back at the swamp by the hotel in the evening, I came across three Eastern Bluebirds, still hanging around in the north to add another lifer.

American Robins were everywhere

Red Fox Sparrow

A young Bald Eagle cruised over

Downy Woodpecker

Northern Cardinal

Ruby-crowned Kinglets were pretty much in every tree

Pied-billed Grebe

Red-tailed Hawk

Loads of Myrtle Warblers, all looking different to each other.

It took a while to get one tocooperate and show its yellow rump.

Marsh Wren

Marsh Wren

Eastern Phoebe

Eastern Bluebird

Eastern Bluebird

A Sunday in Singapore before a week’s training means I get to do some birding while getting some daylight to help beat the jetlag.

Many thanks to Martin Kennewell who gave me a fantastic day out.

This Orange-bellied Flowerpecker had a lot to say

Lesser Dog-faced Fruit Bat

Tiger Shrike

Ashy Tailorbird having a bath in a leaf

Halfbeak

A small Water Monitor

Copper-throated Sunbird, one of five lifers for the day

Sunda Scops Owls

A Slender Squirrel isn’t leaving his nut for anyone

Blyth’s Paradise Flycatcher

A female Sunda Colugo: is there a guiltier looking animal?

Crimson Sunbird

A male Colugo

Stork-billed Kingfisher

One last Colugo shot

A nice surprise by the pond yesterday when we discovered the first Migrant Hawker for the garden.

A nice surprise this evening when a Sedge Warbler turned up in our garden pond.  It’s the second we’ve had this autumn.  I was able to sneak up on it and get a picture, but the pond’s a bit busy, so there was no chance of getting it unobscured, and the light had already gone, so it’s a bit noisy.

We had a bit of a warbler frenzy at that point, with a Willow Warbler, Chiffchaffs, Lesser Whitethroat and Blackcap pinging around the bushes near the house for half an hour.

A better picture of our Clifden Nonpareil, a real stunner.

An eventful weekend, with a spectacular end.  We had a quick check for migrants at home on Saturday morning: two spotted Flycatchers the stars of the show, but our first Lesser Whitethroats of the autumn were good to see, and then off for what turned out to be a butterfly day.  Some Queen of Spain Fritillaries at Peacehaven gave some nice views an then at Beachy Head some more common butterflies behaved well.

On Sunday, either the same two or two new Spotted Flycatchers posed together, but the year’s first Sedge Warbler hid in the pond vegetation to avoid the camera.  Then off to Cuckmere to twitch the Baird’s Sandpiper that had just been found.  A much-wanted British lifer bites the dust.  Back home, we emptied out a truly pathetic moth trap: very few moths and nothing interesting, until our first Clifden Nonpareil opened its wings.  Massive and magnificent!  It’s not often an insect upstages a special bird, but the Nonpareil truly lives up to its name.

Speckled Bush Cricket

Spotted Flycatcher

Common Whitethroat

Queen of Spain Fritillary

Queen of Spain Fritillary

Small Copper

Chalkhill Blue

Common Blue

Spotted Flycatcher

Bailrd’s Sandpiper

Clifden Nonpareil

It was all a bit distant at Farlington Marshes this afternoon, although the birds were good, with Pectoral Sandpiper, Peregrine chasing down a Grey Plover (just missed) and a distant perched Osprey.  Much nearer were the Common Darters in the pond this morning.

Common Darters engaged in egg-laying

Wheatear

Osprey

A bank holiday: do we tidy up the garden or go birdwatching?  Well fortunately we can do both, because August Bank Holiday traditionally turns up migrants at home.  Today was no exception, with a couple of Spotted Flycatchers feeding from the wires over the field next to us.  We also had a Dark Bush Cricket that needed rescuing from the large amount of hedge trimmings.

Earlier on in the week a Latticed Heath added itself to the house list.  It’s not very heathy around here, so this was presumably a migrant.

Latticed Heath, another new moth for the house list

Dark Bush Cricket

Spotted Flycatcher