A Bird's Eye Review of 2012

Ok, so there are still 3 days of the year left, but it would take an amazing sighting or magical moment to reach the top bird list of 2012. Despite not getting out as much as I would like our hobby lets us enjoy every moment no matter where we are.

Western Palearctic - Top 5 birds of 2012
1. Green Beeater (Dubai)
2. White Collared Kingfisher (Dubai)
3. Black-headed Bunting (Greece)
4. Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse (Dubai)
5. Masked Shrike (Greece)

UK - Top Birds of 2012
1. Long-billed Dowitcher (RSPB Saltholme)
2. Bittern (WWT London Wetlands Centre) - not a new bird, but it was good to add this bird to my London list.

Best Birding Moments of 2012
1. Sitting in a car watching a pair of Green Beeater visiting a nest site in the most unlikely place.

2. Whilst hanging up the Christmas lights in our Rowan Tree a small flock of Long-tailed Tits arrived to watch. Standing on top of the ladders with my head in the canopy 12 inches away from a beautiful Long-tailed Tit making eye contact. Suddenly the world stopped and the day wasn't quite as cold as it was when we started.

Best Non-bird Sightings
1. Dingy Skipper (Bishop Middleham)
2. Scare Swallowtail (Greece)
3. Eastern Festoon (Greece)
4. 'Blonde' Wood Mouse (Stockton-on-Tees)

Garden Birdwatch 2012

As part of the BTO Garden Birdwatch we record the birds using our garden and off course the feeders. As 2012 comes to an end I always try to review our contribution to the local bird population.

House Sparrow has started to return in higher (albeit still small) numbers with a yearly peak of 12 and a reasonably regular 6 individuals staying as a group using the garden.

Goldfinch continues to visit the garden in good numbers and is surprisingly in 2nd place as regular visitor. Peak count was 21 and this species must have bred locally as birds we seen during the summer. Five years ago, Goldfinch was not a visitor to the garden.

Jackdaw numbers around the housing estate seem to be increasing rapidly. I was surprised a few years ago when doing the BTO Winter & Summer Atlases just how many there were. Despite being a medium size bird they regularly use our peanut and seed feeders.

Collared Dove is another bird which seems to be doing well. Peak count is 7, but we have been close to increasing this to 8.

Feral Pigeon is another bird which is starting to visit the garden and it perhaps not such as welcomed visitor. More birds are seen sitting on roof tops now, so are they getting chased from the town centres or has their been an increase in people keeping birds in garden lofts?

Blue Tit is an 1st place as a regular visitor to our garden. Typically a pair of Blue Tits are recorded every week and on occasion young fledged birds visit late summer. It was noticeable that no fledging Blue Tits were seen this year and they started to build a nest in our box, but moved on after a short time. Maybe next year!

Redwing was a new record for the year with 3 birds sitting on our tree for a few minutes this week.

Moth Records 2012

Today was the day for sitting down and compiling all my non-bird records for 2012. First to be completed and sent to the county recorder was the moths. I was disappointed with 2011 and despite the wet weather I always thought I that in 2012 we would see an improvement. There were a few nights with no moths trapped, but you get some of these every year at the start and end of the season. As the weeks progressed the numbers were steady but not amazing. Sadly there was only one night where over one hundred individuals were trapped and that was the 18th August well over the midway point in the season.

Well I have just reviewed the totals from 2010 to 2012 and it is worrying.

2010 = 2244 individuals recorded.
2011 = 877 individuals recorded.
2012 = 639 individuals recorded.

Hopefully, in 2013 we will see a halt to the decline

Caterpillars

Two autumnal visitors to the garden, Grey Dagger & Buff Ermine caterpillars



10-spot Ladybird

A new species for our garden.

Garden Moth Update

18th August 2012 - Minimum temperature 15°C

Green Carpet 1
Willow Beauty 20
Ribbon Wave 16
Honeysuckle Moth 1
Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing 4
Brimstone 1
Marbled Beauty 1
Light Brown Apple 6
Uncertain 1
Lesser Yellow Underwing 33
Large Yellow Underwing 16
Common Rustic agg 7
Dark Arches 3
Brown House Moth 2
Garden Carpet 1
White Shouldered House Moth 1
Mother of Pearl 1
Marbled Minor agg 1
Red-barred Tortrix 1 (see photograph)
Dark Fruit Tortrix 1
Crambus Perlella 1
Eudonia lacustrata 2
Common Wainscot 1
Acleris Forsskaleana 1
Blastobasis Adustella 1
Blastobasis Lacticolella 1
Bryotropha Domestica 1
Cabbage Moth 1
Bee Moth 1

London 2012 Olympics

A selection of photographs taken during a wonderful weekend of Olympic action. In good company under a great atmosphere of excitement and happiness of all attending events. The stadia were amazing, but the Olympia park was a fine example of the best of the british countryside with vast areas wildflowers feeding bees, butterflies and moths. It was a pleasure to walk the vast parkland to take in the atmosphere and see the flowers.

London 2012 Olympics

Garden Moth Update

3rd August 2012 - Minimum Temperature 15.4°C.

418 - Apple Fruit Moth 2
424 - Bird-cherry Ermine 1
425x - Apple / Orchard Ermine 7
453 - Honeysuckle Moth 1
647 - Brown House Moth 1
658 - Carcina quercana 2
822 - Scrobipalpa acruminatella 1
972 - Dark Fruit-tree Tortix 2
1010 - Red-barred Tortix 1
1036 - Acleris forsskaleana 2
1293 - Chrysoteuchia culmella 1
1338 - Eudonia lacustrata 8
1428 - Bee Moth 3
1470 - Euzophera pinguis 2
1524 - Emmelina monodactyla 1
1653 - Buff Arches 1
1708 - Single-dotted Wave 1
1713 - Riband Wave 1
1728 - Garden Carpet 2
1778 - Green Carpet 1
1825 - Lime-speck Pug 1
1839 - Bordered Pug 1
1860 - Green Pug 1
1917 - Early Thorn 1
1937 - Willow Beauty 8
2031 - White Satin Moth 1
2089 - Heart & Dart 1
2050 - Common Footman 1
2107 - Large Yellow Underwing 14
2111 - Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing 3
2136 - Gothic 1
2154 - Cabbage Moth 1
2155 - Dot Moth 1
2199 - Common Wainscot 2
2293 - Marbled Beauty 6
2321 - Dark Arches 8
2343 - Common Rustic agg 3
2381 - Uncertain 5
2434 - Burnished Brass 4
2437 - Golden Plusia 1
2489 - Fan-foot 1

Garden Moth Update

21st July 2012 - Minimum Temperature 13.5°C.

1063 - Celypha striana 1
1076 - Celypha lacunana 2
1293 - Chrysoteuchia culmella 2
1338 - Eudonia lacustrata 8
1378 - Phlyctaenia coronata 1
1428 - Bee Moth 2
1707 - Small Dusty Wave 2
1713 - Riband Wave 2
1728 - Garden Carpet 3
1742 - Yellow Shell 1
1862 - Double-striped Pug 1
1906 - Brimstone Moth 3
1937 - Willow Beauty 1
1981 - Poplar Hawkmoth 1
2089 - Heart & Dart 1
2107 - Large Yellow Underwing 2
2155 - Dot Moth 2
2193 - Clay 1
2199 - Common Wainscot 1
2284x - Grey/Darl Dagger 2
2293 - Marbled Beauty 3
2321 - Dark Arches 5
2322 - Light Arches 7
2337x - Marbled Minor agg 1
2381 - Uncertain 5
2434 - Burnished Brass 3
2477 - Snout 1
2489 - Fan-foot 4

Lake Kerkini Birds

Lake Kerkini Butterflies

Lake Kerkini Butterflies

Lake Kerkini Butterflies

Greece May 2012 - Cream-Spot Tiger

Garden Moth Update

27th April 2012 - Minimum Temperature 4.3C

Powdered Quaker 1 (new for garden)

Garden Birdwatch Update

Week Starting 22/4/12

Feral Pigeon 2
House Sparrow 3
Greenfinch 2
Goldfinch 5
Dunnock 2 (nesting in garden)
Jackdaw 2
Blue Tit 2 (currently nest building)
Starling 2
Collared Dove 2

Food: Sunflower Hearts, Seed, Peanuts & Kitchen Scraps
Water

Mammals: Wood Mouse 3

Garden Birdwatch Update

Week starting 15/4/12

Greenfinch 2
House Sparrow 5
Feral Pigeon 2
Blackbird 2
Blue Tit 2
Starling 1
Collared Dove 2
Goldfinch 3
Dunnock 2
Woodpigeon 2
Jackdaw 2
Robin 1

Food: Sunflower Hearts, Seed, Peanuts and Kitchen Scraps
Wood

Mammals: Wood Mouse 3

Garden Moth Update

13th April 2012

Minimum Temperature 2.2C

Early Grey 1

Clouded Drab 1

Garden Moths Update

Minimum Temperature 8.6c

Hebrew Character 1

Early Grey 1

Brown House Moth see later in house.

Garden Birdwatch Update

Week starting 1st April 2012

Maximium Temperature 31.1c, Minimum Temperature -0.3c

Goldfinch 7

Greenfinch 3

Blackbird 1

Blue Tit 2

Jackdaw 3

House Sparrow 3

Starling 4

Dunnock 2

Collared Dove 3

Woodpigeon 3

Feral Pigeon 3

Long-tailed Tit 1

Coal Tit 1

Food: Sunflower Hearts, Peanuts, Seed, Fat Balls & Kitchen Scraps

Water

Butterflies: Small White 7/4/12

Garden Moth Update - 30th March 2012

Minimum Temperature 6.8C

Small Quaker 1 (see photo - new for garden)
Hebrew Character - 6
Double-striped Pug - 2

Dubai Photos