Author Archives: hootbot

About hootbot

Professional design agency photographer and amateur birder.

Review of the Year – 2016

Posted on January 9, 2017

January The year began well, with days out at Rainham for Marsh Harriers and Short-eared Owls, Thursley Common for Great Grey Shrike and Dartford Warbler (and a surprise Red Kite floating past Dev’s flat in Woking), Strumpshaw Fen for Marsh … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged aberystwyth, alpine chough, aragon, ashdown forest, Barn Owl, beachy head, bearded tit, birds, Black Kite, Black Redstart, blue rock thrush, booted eagle, Bramfield, buzzard, Caspian Gull, ceredigion, chough, citril finch, common sandpiper, corn bunting, crested lark, Crested Tit, crossbill, crowned mantis, Curlew, curlew sandpiper, Dunlin, eagle owl, eastbourne, egyptian vulture, Fieldfare, Glossy Ibis, goosander, Grasshopper Warbler, green sandpiper, Griffon Vulture, hawfinch, Hen Harrier, hen harrier day, Hobby, honey buzzard, hoopoe, Ibex, jack snipe, lammergeier, lesser whitethroat, Little Owl, london, marmot, Marsh Harrier, marsh tit, mid-wales birdwatching, naturetrek, Norfolk, nuthatch, owls, peregrine, photography, Pied Flycatcher, purple heron, purple sandpiper, pyrenean chamois, pyrenees, rainham, raven, red kite, Red-legged Partridge, red-throated diver, redstart, Redwing, Reed Warbler, rock bunting, rock thrush, rosefinch, RSPB, ruislip lido, russia dock, rye harbour, Rye Meads, Sanderling, Scaup, scops owl, short-eared owl, snettisham, Spain, Sparrowhawk, spotted flycatcher, staines moor, Stonechat, strumpshaw fen, thekla lark, Treecreeper, twite, Waders, wales, Wallasea Island, wallcreeper, Walthamstow, Walthamstow Marshes, Walthamstow Reservoirs, wells-next-the-sea, western cattle egret, western orphean warbler, western subalpine warbler, Wheatear, whinchat, whitethroat, wicken fen, yellow-browed warbler, yellowhammer, ynys-hir | Leave a comment

Jack Twite: The Year’s End

Posted on January 3, 2017

I was planning to update before the festive season, but knowing that I was going to put some effort into the final few weeks of the year it made more sense to finish off the year’s birding first and put … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Amwell, ashdown forest, Barn Owl, beachy head, birling gap, blue tit, buzzard, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, corn bunting, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, eastbourne, Essex, Fairlop Waters, Goldcrest, Golden Plover, great tit, Greater Scaup, Grey Wagtail, Hen Harrier, jack snipe, kensington gardens, kestrel, Kingfisher, Lapwing, Little Egret, Little Owl, london, London Wetland Centre, Marsh Harrier, Meadow Pipit, nuthatch, old lodge, peregrine, Rainham Marshes, Red-legged Partridge, Redshank, Reed Bunting, rock pipit, RSPB, rye harbour, Scaup, short-eared owl, Snipe, south downs, Sparrowhawk, staines moor, Stonechat, Sussex, tottenham marshes, Treecreeper, twite, Wallasea Island, Walthamstow, Walthamstow Reservoirs, Water Pipit, Wheatear, woodlark | Leave a comment

Norfolk

Posted on October 22, 2016

Very late with this update, but I’ve been busy putting together a large-format kit, and there have been a number of prior engagements that have taken my time up too, but here goes… Since the last update which ended with … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged arctic skua, astrophotography, autumn, Bar-tailed Godwit, Barn Owl, beeston bump, Birdwatching, Black-tailed Godwit, blakeney, Brent Goose, buzzard, Caspian Gull, Cley, Curlew, Dunlin, Gannet, Garden Warbler, Goldcrest, Golden Plover, Greenshank, Grey Plover, Hobby, jay, Knot, Little Egret, Little Stint, london, Marsh Harrier, milky way, Norfolk, ornithology, Oystercatcher, peregrine, photo, photography, Pied Flycatcher, pink-footed goose, red kite, Redshank, ringed plover, ruff, Sanderling, sandwich tern, sheringham, short-eared owl, snettisham, Spoonbill, spotted flycatcher, Spotted Redshank, Stiffkey, Stonechat, timelapse, Titchwell, Treecreeper, Turnstone, wader, Waders, Walthamstow, Walthamstow Reservoirs, wells, wells woods, wells-next-the-sea, Wheatear, whinchat, Willow Warbler, woodberry wetlands, yellow-browed warbler | Leave a comment

Rose, Honey, Jars…

Posted on August 10, 2016

I don’t normally go for obscure blog titles, but sometimes you have to keep people guessing… Anyway, after we returned from Spain we decided that we needed to relax a bit after an intense – and very satisfying – season … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Spanish Pyrenees

Posted on June 14, 2016

So, after a very successful spring back home, it was off to the Spanish Pyrenees with Naturetrek for our big holiday of the year. Day One (Sunday) was basically the travel day. We had the convenience of flying to Zaragoza … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged alpine, alpine chough, aragon, berdun, Black Kite, Black Redstart, black wheatear, black woodpecker, black-eared wheatear, blue rock thrush, booted eagle, butterflies, buzzard, calandra lark, chough, Cirl Bunting, citril finch, crag martin, crested lark, Crested Tit, crowned mantis, cuckoo, eagle, eagle owl, egyptian vulture, gentian, golden eagle, golden oriole, great reed warbler, Grey Wagtail, Griffon Vulture, helleborine, hirundines, Hobby, honey buzzard, hoopoe, huesca, isard, kestrel, lammergeier, marmot, mountains, naturetrek, nightingale, nightjar, northern wheatear, orchid, peregrine, portalet, praying mantis, purple heron, pyrenean chamois, pyrenees, raven, red kite, red-backed shrike, red-billed chough, rock bunting, rock sparrow, rock thrush, sardinian warbler, saxifrage, scops owl, short-toed lark, Spain, thekla lark, vulture, wallcreeper, western bonelli's warbler, western cattle egret, western orphean warbler, western subalpine warbler, Wheatear, Wryneck, yellowhammer, zaragoza | Leave a comment

Spring Update

Posted on June 4, 2016

Spring has been very rewarding this year. After we returned from Wales the birds started to arrive, and we’ve even got ourselves a life tick – and one from this year’s list of five targets, no less. Firstly, it was … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Arctic Tern, Birding, birds, Blackcap, Bramfield, buzzard, Chiffchaff, claybury, common sandpiper, Common Tern, common whitethroat, fairlop, Fox, garganey, Green Woodpecker, Hobby, lesser whitethroat, little gull, Little Ringed Plover, lockwood reservoir, Marsh Harrier, ornithology, owls, peregrine, photo, photography, Pied Flycatcher, Rainham Marshes, red fox, red-crested pochard, Redshank, redstart, Reed Bunting, Reed Warbler, regents park, RSPB, russia dock, Sanderling, Sedge Warbler, short-eared owl, Sparrowhawk, staines moor, stave hill, Stock Dove, stocker's lake, Stonechat, tottenham, tottenham marshes, Waders, Walthamstow Reservoirs, Wheatear, whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Wren | Leave a comment

Ceredigion Birding

Posted on April 9, 2016

It was time for our first birding break of the year, having not been away at all since July, and knowing that we won’t be going on our main holiday until late May. There were a few ideas bouncing around: … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged aberystwyth, Birding, birds, birds of prey, Black Redstart, blue tit, buzzard, ceredigion, chough, Coal Tit, dipper, fulmar, great tit, green sandpiper, Grey Plover, Grey Wagtail, Guillemot, kestrel, Kingfisher, mid-wales birdwatching, murmuration, new quay, nuthatch, ornithology, photography, ponterwyd, purple sandpiper, raven, red kite, red-throated diver, rock pipit, RSPB, seal, Shag, siskin, Sparrowhawk, starling, stoat, Stonechat, teal, Wheatear, ynys-hir | Leave a comment

A Whole New Year…

Posted on April 3, 2016

Only a few months late with this, but I’ve been busy… So, how has 2016 begun? Not too bad so far, despite the slightly odd weather. As the year has progressed it’s actually become colder, but we still seem to … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Amwell, avocet, Barn Owl, Birding, birds, bittern, Black-tailed Godwit, buzzard, Dartford Warbler, firecrest, frensham common, Goldcrest, goldeneye, great grey shrike, Green Woodpecker, kensington gardens, kestrel, Kingfisher, Little Owl, Marsh Harrier, Meadow Pipit, Muntjac, nuthatch, ornithology, owls, Oystercatcher, photography, Rainham Marshes, Red-legged Partridge, Redshank, Reed Bunting, RSPB, Rye Meads, Scaup, short-eared owl, siskin, Snipe, Sparrowhawk, strumpshaw fen, thursley common, tower hamlets cemetery, vange marsh, Walthamstow Reservoirs, wat tyler country park, woking | Leave a comment

Review of the Year – 2015

Posted on January 11, 2016

2014 hadn’t been a great birding year for me, certainly as far as seeing new species goes, with only twelve species being added to the lifelist, and many of our trips were affected by either bad weather or illness. Before … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Amwell, bird, Birdfinders, birds of prey, Bramfield, bunting, cairngorms, Dungeness, Eagles, Fairlop Waters, falcons, Finland, Finnature, greece, Harriers, hawfinch, heatherlea, kuusamo, lesbos, lesvos, london, ornithology, Oulu, owls, Rainham Marshes, raptors, RSPB Rye Meads, scotland, shrikes, Smew, staines moor, thursley common, Waders, Wallasea Island, Warbler, woodpeckers | Leave a comment

Owls. Owls Everywhere…

Posted on November 15, 2015

We’ve had a very mild autumn so far, and after the passing-through of the Redstarts, Whinchats, Wrynecks, etc, the next step has been the influx of species that might want to hang around for the winter. The first day out … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Birding, birds, Black-necked Grebe, Curlew, Golden Plover, goosander, kestrel, owls, Pintail, Rainham Marshes, Redshank, RSPB, short-eared owl, Snipe, Stonechat, Walthamstow Reservoirs | Leave a comment