Hello birdwatchers and a happy new year to you all My 2013 bird list started with a fantastic day around the outskirts of Wakefield on the 2nd January. Water levels were high but, luckily, our target birds were at home on deep water – some normally living out to sea. Long-tailed duck and
Continue readingHello birdwatchers Well what a fantastic year it has been – I hope that you have been able to follow the Start Birding blogs over the last 12 months and have enjoyed reading about the wonderful birds we have seen on our trips. Since my last post, we have remained
Continue readingHello birdwatchers I hope that you have managed to catch up with some of our winter visitors over the last couple of weeks. Thanks to everyone who emailed me about their waxwing sightings. It has been great to hear that Leeds birdwatchers have managed to see them for the first
Continue readingHello Birdwatchers What a fantastic day we had yesterday at RSPB Saltholme reserve at Teesside. We woke to pouring rain and travelled north By the time we arrived, the rain had stopped. The air was still damp and the light was somewhat ‘milky’; not very good conditions for photographs but, thankfully, enough
Continue readingHello birdwatchers The word of the month in the birding world has to be waxwings. They’re everywhere but if you haven’t seen any yet then this is because they are very nomadic and faithful to their favourite places -places that are filled with berries. In Leeds, one such nomadic flock
Continue readingYes I know I said that I probably wouldn’t do this but I’ve now got a Twitter account and have sent out my first tweet. I thought I’d dip my toe in the water and see what happened. The aim is to publicise Start Birding to a wider audience and
Continue readingHello birdwatchers For me, October has been a month of cloudscapes, colour and snipe. I don’t think I’ve ever had so many snipe on my Start Birding trips before. wonderful cloudscapes over North Cave Last Saturday we even managed to add a jack snipe to our list. This smaller cousin
Continue readingHello birdwatchers If you’ve been feeling depressed by the wet, cold summer then I urge you to take a trip outdoors this weekend and reap your reward. That dreadful, torrential rain and flooding that we’ve all had to tolerate has created a rhapsody of autumnal splendour around our cities, parks
Continue readingHello birdwatchers How lucky we have been with the weather this week on Start Birding birdwatching trips. We’ve been treated to the best of autumnal weather with dramatic mists hanging in the valleys, blue skies and wispy clouds. The diffused light has enhanced the seasonal yellow, gold and russet hues of
Continue readingHello birdwatchers Over the last week, in addition to my indoor and outdoor classes, I’ve managed to get some birding time with friends. On Tuesday I visited South Gare and RSPB Saltholme on Teesside for the first time in ages. We’d hoped for easterly winds so that we could see some visible migration however
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