After the excitement of the Northern Long-tailed Tits at Dymchurch on Saturday I was amazed to get a call from Jack to say that Nigel had found two of these little beauties at Kingsdown.
I did hope that my luck would change I would get some good photos but they were quite elusive and although good views were occasionally had I failed pretty miserably with the camera. Brendon and Gerald managed much better and their pictures are on the Bockhill pages of the KOS website.
These weren't the only Long-tailed Tits of interest. At least one seemed to show a clean broad white stripe, and reduced black on the sides of the head, as well as much cleaner white ear-coverts and flanks that are characteristic of the sub-species europeaus.
Sam is having a couple of days with us at the seaside and we came down to Kingsdown Beach. I left him with Pam to count the stones on the beach while I had a look for the tit flock.
Sam seemed to have a good time, but I failed to connect with any Long-tailed Tits today, although I did meet Steve Ray who saw and photographed one yesterday.
9 comments:
Tony, enlighten me on why John Smith's on offer was a surprise, I'm intrigued. Presumably you would rather have a good Kentish ale.
Derek, only because it is a Lancashire beer, and one that I acquired a taste for during my time at university. I have to say it didn't taste like it did in my days in Manchester. I suppose it is the difference between being in wood with proper pumps and being in Kegs.
John Smith's Tony???????
You've changed!!!
Nigel Parsons
oops! Wrong Tony Morris!
Sorry!
Still a rubbish beer though.
Sorry to disappoint! The beer was average. In the 60's, in Manchester it wasn't a bad pint.
My apologies Tony! I wasn't old enough to drink beer in the 60's so at that time it may well have been OK then. This thread seems to be heading towards being hijacked as a beer thread so let me get it back on to the subject of birds. I know nothing about them but I saw an exotic looking specimen in my garden. I was looking up my old university friend Tony Morris who is a researcher at the RSPB. I came across your post and made the wrong connection. He was a real ale enthusiast. Anyway, I researched the sighting on the internet and I think it was a green woodpecker. I hear woodpeckers when cycling through Southampton common on the way to work in the morning but I never thought I would see one in my garden. It seemed quite brave and was rooting around in the soil for some time. Can woodpeckers be as brazen as this? I live close to the commen.
Green Woodies can be very confident. One regularly feeds on my Lawn. Was your friend Tony Morris from Sheffield? I used to often get e-mails meant for a birder with the same name from there.
I don't think he's ever been based in Sheffield.
http://www.reading.ac.uk/caer/student_tony_morris.html
html at the end
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