Ornithology & Bird watching in Stafford.

[peggy]

My father in law is a bird watcher and I would like to buy him a birthday gift to go with his hobby... Any suggestions?

 

[age'd parent]

My father in law is a bird watcher and I would like to buy him a birthday gift to go with his hobby... Any suggestions?

A cat?

 

[peggy]

@age'd parent

 

[The Hawk]

My father in law is a bird watcher and I would like to buy him a birthday gift to go with his hobby... Any suggestions?

How keen is he? Does he have lots of kit already or is he more of a garden bird watcher?

 

[proactive]

No cygnets or swans at all at Castlefields Balancing Lake when I went for a snoop early this afternoon

 

[peggy]

How keen is he? Does he have lots of kit already or is he more of a garden bird watcher?

He's very keen. Although I don't much about what kit he has, I know he recently bought a telescope. He follows Twitter sites on twittering and heads off (does that actually mean anything??) He's had a bit of a health scare and is recovering but out of all his hobbies I think bird spotting is one he should be able to continue to enjoy fully.

 

[Gramaisc]

Casually ask him how good he is at recognising them by their calls....?

https://www.harpercollins.co.uk/9780007339761/collins-bird-songs-and-calls

 

[The Hawk]

He's very keen. Although I don't much about what kit he has, I know he recently bought a telescope. He follows Twitter sites on twittering and heads off (does that actually mean anything??) He's had a bit of a health scare and is recovering but out of all his hobbies I think bird spotting is one he should be able to continue to enjoy fully.

The thing with equipment (binoculars, spotting scope etc.) is that it is both very personal and very expensive; I would never suggest buying anything like that for someone else, unless you knew they wanted a specific piece of kit.

A book or books is not a bad idea, and I'll throw a few suggestions in:

• He'll almost certainly have a field guide, and most birders go with Collins Bird Guide http://shopping.rspb.org.uk/collins-bird-guide.html so I'll guess he may well have this one. However, there is also a large (A4) format hardback version which is great to flick through at home http://www.whsmith.co.uk/pws/Produc...07449026&keywords=9780007449026&redirect=true.
• 'A Message From Martha' by Mark Avery http://www.amazon.co.uk/Message-Martha-Extinction-Passenger-Narratives/dp/147290625X the story of the rapid decline of the commonest bird in the world, the Passenger Pigeon, which went from billions to extinct in the wild in a liitle over two decades. A few years later, in 1914, the last captive bird, Martha, died in Cincinnati Zoo, and so with it went a species. The "message" is a warning that if we go on destroying the environment there will be many more Martha's.
• 'Inglorious: Conflict In The Uplands' http://www.amazon.co.uk/Inglorious-...TF8&qid=1467576289&sr=1-1&keywords=inglorious, also by Mark Avery, brings the threat to our wildlife up to date and details the destruction of much of our uplands in the name of driven grouse shooting (basically blasting hundreds or thousands of Red Grouse out of the sky for "fun") by a rich elite, who destroy anything and everything to 'protect' their grouse for the shooters. This means killing birds of prey, mountain hares etc. as well as heather burning practices that can lead to flooding lower down the slopes in our towns and villages. Mark is currently leading a determined campaign to end driven grouse shooting in this country and the evidence he presents in this book, from both sides, is compelling.
• 'UK500: Birding In The Fast Lane' http://www.amazon.co.uk/Books-UK500-Birding-Fast-J-Hanlon/dp/0954334787 is look at the most eccentric bunch of bird watchers, the hardcore Twitchers, who will go to almost any lengths to see as many different species as possible. Some of the stories in this book are bizarre and, to most of us (non-Twitchers) the antics of this group would suggest that the straight jackets should be on standby.

So, a few suggestions there. The first one is fairly routine, but the other three are a little different. See if you can get a look at his bookcase first.

 

[Withnail]

Birdsong ident is definitely some 'next level' kind of shizz.

I got this -

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Birdsong-British-Irish-amazing-sounds/dp/1849491348

- from a 'bargain bucket' sort of affair somewhere and can recommend. Bit of a faff having to ff through to the one you want but arguably better than having separate CDs. Worth a thought.

Also/alternatively an owl caller -

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Owl-Bird-Call-Carved-Wood/dp/B00BM64GU6

- these things are really good if you can't do that thing with the whole cupping of the hands (like i can't), so you can talk to owls!

 

[gon2seed]

No cygnets or swans at all at Castlefields Balancing Lake when I went for a snoop early this afternoon

Have to have a wander down!

 

[gon2seed]

First the good news:- There were swans & cygnets at the CASTLEFIELDS balancing pool, (by the rugby club & Kingsway) this morning; as the youngsters are a couple of months from getting airborne, I assume mum, dad & the sprogs must have been hiding in the copious water side foliage when 'proactive' was there!
Bad news:- there were only 3 cygnets, and one of them wasn't moving to freely in the water.

 

[proactive]

First the good news:- There were swans & cygnets at the CASTLEFIELDS balancing pool, (by the rugby club & Kingsway) this morning; as the youngsters are a couple of months from getting airborne, I assume mum, dad & the sprogs must have been hiding in the copious water side foliage when 'proactive' was there!
Bad news:- there were only 3 cygnets, and one of them wasn't moving to freely in the water.

Glad to hear that they're still there. I will pop over again in a bit, after I've been to Specsavers.

 

[proactive]

Went again this afternoon. Poked around for a good 45 minutes, but unless they've burrowed underground or have deployed camouflage they weren't there.

 

[gon2seed]

Are we talking about the same lake/pool? Was there this morning 9.30 ish, and there was definitely 3 youngsters & their parents! It's a mystery!

 

[proactive]

Are we talking about the same lake/pool? Was there this morning 9.30 ish, and there was definitely 3 youngsters & their parents! It's a mystery!

https://www.google.com/maps/place/S...ata=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x1b47b3d511d85808

 

[peggy]

Casually ask him how good he is at recognising them by their calls....?

https://www.harpercollins.co.uk/9780007339761/collins-bird-songs-and-calls

Birdsong ident is definitely some 'next level' kind of shizz.

I got this -

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Birdsong-British-Irish-amazing-sounds/dp/1849491348

- from a 'bargain bucket' sort of affair somewhere and can recommend. Bit of a faff having to ff through to the one you want but arguably better than having separate CDs. Worth a thought.

Also/alternatively an owl caller -

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Owl-Bird-Call-Carved-Wood/dp/B00BM64GU6

- these things are really good if you can't do that thing with the whole cupping of the hands (like i can't), so you can talk to owls!

The thing with equipment (binoculars, spotting scope etc.) is that it is both very personal and very expensive; I would never suggest buying anything like that for someone else, unless you knew they wanted a specific piece of kit.

A book or books is not a bad idea, and I'll throw a few suggestions in:

• He'll almost certainly have a field guide, and most birders go with Collins Bird Guide http://shopping.rspb.org.uk/collins-bird-guide.html so I'll guess he may well have this one. However, there is also a large (A4) format hardback version which is great to flick through at home http://www.whsmith.co.uk/pws/Produc...07449026&keywords=9780007449026&redirect=true.
• 'A Message From Martha' by Mark Avery http://www.amazon.co.uk/Message-Martha-Extinction-Passenger-Narratives/dp/147290625X the story of the rapid decline of the commonest bird in the world, the Passenger Pigeon, which went from billions to extinct in the wild in a liitle over two decades. A few years later, in 1914, the last captive bird, Martha, died in Cincinnati Zoo, and so with it went a species. The "message" is a warning that if we go on destroying the environment there will be many more Martha's.
• 'Inglorious: Conflict In The Uplands' http://www.amazon.co.uk/Inglorious-...TF8&qid=1467576289&sr=1-1&keywords=inglorious, also by Mark Avery, brings the threat to our wildlife up to date and details the destruction of much of our uplands in the name of driven grouse shooting (basically blasting hundreds or thousands of Red Grouse out of the sky for "fun") by a rich elite, who destroy anything and everything to 'protect' their grouse for the shooters. This means killing birds of prey, mountain hares etc. as well as heather burning practices that can lead to flooding lower down the slopes in our towns and villages. Mark is currently leading a determined campaign to end driven grouse shooting in this country and the evidence he presents in this book, from both sides, is compelling.
• 'UK500: Birding In The Fast Lane' http://www.amazon.co.uk/Books-UK500-Birding-Fast-J-Hanlon/dp/0954334787 is look at the most eccentric bunch of bird watchers, the hardcore Twitchers, who will go to almost any lengths to see as many different species as possible. Some of the stories in this book are bizarre and, to most of us (non-Twitchers) the antics of this group would suggest that the straight jackets should be on standby.

So, a few suggestions there. The first one is fairly routine, but the other three are a little different. See if you can get a look at his bookcase first.

These are fab suggestions. Thankyou!

 

[gon2seed]

Was one parent and three cygnets before. 1.00 today, have been a few times recently and a couple of times, no swans to be seen at all! Think they must be using the nearby streams to avoid me! Wander round but they are nowhere to be seen, then they appear, as if by magic the next day! Mmmm

 

[citricsquid]

Forgive me if this is common knowledge but... if you like swans, at the lake (is it a lake?) on Doxey Marshes, along the Isabel Trail, behind the Eccelshall Road Cemetery (and now The Range), there are some reeds next to the bridge[1] and a swan nest is immediately inside the reeds, meaning you're standing less than 20 feet from the Swan nest -- and they don't seem to mind human observation. A couple of times I have seen the swans (2 adult, 2 young) in the nest, other times they're swimming around the lake or exploring elsewhere.

[1] I don't know if it is just a bridge, the lake flows into a small river that goes under the trail, and there is a black fence with a gas pipe. I think it's just a bridge but maybe there is a special name. I especially like this bridge because in the water there are hundreds of fish, including quite a few big stripey fish and some even bigger fish, when the sun is shining the water is quite clear and the big fish are easy to spot.

 

[John Marwood]

It'll end in tears ...



Doxey Marshes

 

[John Marwood]

Plenty of sightings of a beautiful Marsh Harrier on the Marshes ( no, really .. ) over the last day or so

A fine looking bird - dark brown with yellow head - large ( the bird, not the head )