Tag Archives: cuckoo

The Missing Year

Posted on May 19, 2018 by hootbot

I didn’t update my blog at all in 2017, and there are two reasons for this. Firstly, during the first half of the year I was just a bit lazy. I fully intended to update my blog as normal, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged aquatic warbler, arctic warbler, Barn Owl, barred warbler, bee-eater, biaowieza, biebrza, bison, bittern, Black-necked Grebe, black-winged stilt, bluethroat, brambling, Bullfinch, buzzard, Caspian Gull, citrine wagtail, Cley, collared flycatcher, common sandpiper, corncrake, crossbill, cuckoo, Curlew, curlew sandpiper, Dartford Warbler, dipper, elmley marshes, firecrest, forest of dean, Goldcrest, goosander, goshawk, great grey shrike, Great White Egret, green sandpiper, Greenshank, grey-headed woodpecker, hawfinch, Hobby, jack snipe, Kingfisher, lesser spotted eagle, Little Egret, Little Owl, Little Stint, mandarin, marsh warbler, montagu's harrier, naturetrek, Norfolk, Penduline Tit, peregrine, photography, poland, Pygmy Owl, red-backed shrike, red-breasted flycatcher, red-necked grebe, red-necked phalarope, Redshank, Ring Ouzel, river warbler, rosefinch, ruff, sheppey, short-eared owl, spotted eagle, spotted flycatcher, Spotted Redshank, Stiffkey, Stonechat, tawny owl, temminck's stint, three-toed woodpecker, thrush nightingale, Titchwell, Walthamstow Reservoirs, walthamstow wetlands, whimbrel, whinchat, whiskered tern, white stork, white-backed woodpecker, White-tailed Eagle, white-winged tern, Wryneck, Yellow Wagtail, yellow-browed warbler, yellowhammer | Leave a comment

Spanish Pyrenees

Posted on June 14, 2016 by hootbot

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

Lesbos – Spring Birding

Posted on June 5, 2015 by hootbot

At the beginning of the year Jem and I decided that we wanted to go on a birding holiday to Austria. We chose one from Oriole Birding which fitted the bill nicely. Unfortunately, as we went ahead to book it, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Birdfinders, Birding, cuckoo, eagle, greece, Harrier, kalloni, lesbos, lesvos, Owl, Reed Bunting, roller, Shrike, sigri, Waders, wheatears, woodpecker | Leave a comment

Pre-Lesbos Catch-up

Posted on May 9, 2015 by hootbot

After the fun we had in the Cairngorms back in early February, we’ve managed a number of days out-and-about since to see what’s around and to add to our UK yearlist. It began with a damp Saturday morning in Kensington … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Barn Owl, Birding, Birdwatching, Black-necked Grebe, Black-tailed Godwit, Blackcap, chaffinch, common lizard, cuckoo, Dungeness, Essex, firecrest, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Northern Diver, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great White Egret, Greater Scaup, Green Woodpecker, Greenshank, Hertfordshire, kensington gardens, kestrel, Lapwing, Lea Valley, lesser spotted woodpecker, Linnet, Little Ringed Plover, London Wetland Centre, marsh frog, Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Rainham Marshes, red fox, Redshank, rickmansworth, RSPB, Sparrowhawk, staines reservoirs, stocker's lake, tawny owl, tower hamlets cemetery, Walthamstow Marshes, Walthamstow Reservoirs, Water Vole, Wheatear, WWT | Leave a comment

Finland (part 2 of 3)

Posted on June 26, 2014 by hootbot

Day Three began with an early – though not quite as early as Day Two – drive back out to deep forest to look for Pygmy Owls. We found the nest box and Antti called for the male, with no … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Birdfinders, Birding, birds, Black Grouse, black woodpecker, brambling, capercaillie, common redstart, cuckoo, Finland, Finnature, goosander, Hawk Owl, hazelhen, kestrel, kuusamo, lesser spotted woodpecker, ornithology, Oulu, owls, photo, photography, Pygmy Owl, rough-legged buzzard, short-eared owl, White-fronted Goose, woodcock | 1 Comment

Mayday Weekend

Posted on May 28, 2014 by hootbot

Before I talk about our long-awaited trip to Finland, I’ll post about a great little weekend we had right at the beginning of the month. May began with the decision to get up early on a Saturday morning and go … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Birding, birds, Blackcap, Bullfinch, buzzard, Cetti's Warbler, Chiffchaff, Common Tern, cuckoo, Damselfly, Garden Warbler, Great Ouse, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Green Woodpecker, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, gulls, Hobby, kestrel, King's Lynn, Marsh Harrier, Meadow Pipit, Nor, Norfolk, ornithology, photo, photography, Point Green, Red-legged Partridge, Reed Bunting, Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, skylark, Staines, staines moor, Swallow, whitethroat | Leave a comment

Hainault, Wanstead, Rainham and Wimbledon

Posted on July 5, 2013 by hootbot

A few weekends ago I stayed with Jem’s family in East London. We had a good walk around Hainault Forest on the Saturday (despite getting caught in a downpour) and saw the RAF aircraft for the Queen’s birthday fly-by come … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged birds, blue tit, cuckoo, Damselfly, Dragonfly, Dunnock, Hainault, Hobby, jay, kestrel, Kingfisher, ornithology, photo, photography, Rainham Marshes, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Reed Warbler, RSPB, Sedge Warbler, Tennis, Wanstead, whitethroat, Wimbledon | Leave a comment

Cliffe Pools

Posted on June 6, 2013 by hootbot

On Friday evening Jem came up with the genius idea of spending Saturday exploring Cliffe Pools on the North Kent Marshes. It’s an RSPB site, but is open 24 hours a day to all visitors. Getting there from London is … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged avocet, birds, buzzard, Cliffe Pools, cuckoo, godwit, gulls, Hobby, kent, kestrel, nightingale, ornithology, Redshank, RSPB, shelduck, skylark, Sparrowhawk, Strood, swift, whitethroat | Leave a comment