What have you seen

About to go to van in storage, quick look in garden and yep....still here.

Can't take much better pic's, so frustrating to have them here and not get any better photos.........never satisfied.

Can't believe how colourful the male is.

Don't worry...no more photos.

Had a nice few hours down on the Somerset moors today, hoping to get a glimpse of the cranes but saw mostly Bewick swans and Lapwings.

A journey via Muchelney Abbey ruins and the priest's house, it didn't seem long since the last floods blocked the route over that way. Then along the river Parrett, Oath Sluice, which is the upper tidal reach, with some overspill of water into the fields. Onwards and upwards to Stoke St Gregory, the Willow and Wetlands centre. Some lunch at the Lemon Tree café and a wander down the track to the withy beds and the river Tone and a new log basket for home. A watery day out in the sunshine. 

Sounds like a grand day out, brue. The centre was closed when we tried to visit last year.

Spotted a Little Grebe yesterday on the river below Walkworth Castle, and then tonight there was a smallish Murmuration of Starlings about 1/2 ml north of our site, but as I was just coming out of the shower when OH alerted me I was not in a position to dash off and try and get a photo of it.....maybe tomorrow?

If you happen to walk along the river by Walkworth in Summer, Nellie, then check the Terns fishing the river. You can often find a rarish Roseate Tern. They breed on nearby Coquet Island.

Nice post Brue.

A friend of mine spotted one of these on his bird feeder yesterday morning. Wonder if anyone knows what it is?

Don’t have my Collins with me. Looks like some sort of Finch, (head is very Hawe Finch like).  Was pic taken in the U.K?  

I believe it may be a Scaly Breasted Munia

Taken from wikipedia

The species is endemic to Asia and occurs from India and Sri Lanka east to Indonesia and the Philippines (where it is called mayang pakíng). It has been introduced into many other parts of the world and feral populations have established in Puerto Rico and Hispaniola as well as parts of Australia and the United States of America. The bird is listed as of Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

So far this trip apart from the tens of thousand geese and waders we’ve seen, shore larks, water rail, bull finches, red polls, siskins, barn owls, raptors etc. etc.  Just walked up road by site and came across approx 200 field fares.  

Heres a question, whilst walking up the lane we came across 2 birds with the weirdest call, sounded a bit like electricity shorting out.  We saw the birds (about blackbird size) but didn’t have the bins so couldn’t see colour or detail so no idea what they were.

I only wish it was, OP. It was in a garden in San Diego and even there it's a rarity. 

Spot on there, BM!! It's a Nutmeg Mannikin, properly known as a Scaly-Breasted Munia, or Spice Finch.  Not a native of California but an introduces species. 

That's some spotting already, OP. Hope that your trip continues in the same vein.

Another Murmuration this evening, although I think there were less than lat night. I did however get a couple of photos.