AA Birdpix, Birds, Travel and More

 Harriers Harriers are among my favourite raptors, but their fortunes are constantly changing and they are subject to many pressures as most people will know, hopefully. It was a Hen Harrier that re-started me birding. I had done some as a youngster and went on holiday at the age of thirty to Scotland, having always kept an interest but been far too busy with the usual distractions to actually do any birding. However, you can't go to Scotland without looking at the wildlife, and we were lucky enough to see a beautiful male Hen Harrier, a rare sight even then. My then wife, Linda and I made a decision to take up birdwatching on that day.   At around that time you would go to Minsmere and there used to be a chap in the hide who would call up any sighting of a Marsh Harrier, it was the only place in the UK you could see reliably see them and there were about six pairs in the country. Their current status is well-known, and they are a familiar sight at many wetlands throughou...

Misidentification. Mistakes are a fact of life, but when it comes to birding they take on a different meaning. When pager services first began people were at great pains to ensure information was correct before "putting it out". Some would say that this was so certain people could get there first, but I honestly think that was never the intention, at least initially. When I found a Caspian Tern on my way home there was a delay of about 20 minutes before the news was put out. I subsequently found that phone calls had been made to ascertain who I was (thankfully I was already "known", it was just a matter of putting a face to a name). I wasn't offended, quite pleased in fact because I have always had a fear of making a mistake which causes others to waste time and petrol. However, I am still very wary of making a mistake which inconveniences others, but it seems I am in a minority. Over the years, as more people take up birding it has not been possible to check on...

 AABirdpix.com In the beginning was film, well when I started birding anyway. I've never considered myself a photographer, but always a birder with a camera. That way I never get the perfect shot, so there's always something to photograph again. As many will know, back in the 80's and 90's, buying and selling rarity photos became popular, and a number of people became well known for providing such photos. Bird photography then was relatively expensive, because not only did you need a "big lens" to get a reasonable size image, but the cost of film and processing meant that every individual photo had a cost to the photographer, including the ones that "didn't come out". It wasn't excessive, but selling rarity photos was a way to recoup some of the costs.  I was twitching a lot then, and saw some major rarities, some of which may never be repeated, but I didn't sell photos at first. Then one day, in 1994, ten years after we started twitching...

  I've been experimenting with my occasional blog for a while, now I want to make it more regular. The main purpose is twofold-firstly to keep in touch with birders all over the world, and secondly to promote my website. Now I've retired I've had to cut back on travelling and also general birding, but I still have a need to do something, and the website has become another one of my hobbies- http://www.aabirdpix.com . It is just for interest, I'm not selling anything. Whilst compiling some new pages I was researching shags, (or cormorants without silly innuendoes),  and realised that like owls and kingfishers, many new species had been described relatively recently as a result of splits. I really love splitting, and keeping my list up to date, not because of "armchair ticks" but I find it interesting. However there is one big drawback, I'm not sure we've got it right. The problem is all the information leading to a world list (I use IOC as a basis) is p...

 Naughty Nine Finally managed to get my blog going again. Went to Frampton the other day, found a White Wagtail, and a Black-winged Stilt had returned. As I was looking for it a pair of Bearded Reedlings (Tits to you) flew over my head and landed in the reed bed adjacent to the path. Needless to say no further sighting. Med Gulls look as if they're going to breed, they are one of my favourite gulls in breeding plumage, pity they were distant. The male Garganey was still there, awaiting a female (which is probably there already but no-one's seen it yet) and the Yellowlegs still seems settled. I can't believe the number of posts I see from people who are going to see it, but haven't yet. Why not?   This brings me on to my Naughty Nine, which is my personal "bucket list". It is those birds on the British list which I haven't seen anywhere in the world. It started as a Dirty Dozen, in 2022, when I saw White-winged Lark and Caspian Plover in Kazakhstan, and Yel...

Artificial What? I  started this blog intending not to write anything controversial, but I've really got to make some comment about AI. Forgetting the dangers and huge inconveniences outside of birding, I find it very much a double-edged sword, but at least we are able to choose which bits we use. After all, modern cameras and processing programmes use a lot of AI, but there are still manual settings available in many cases, and lots of options. They are far better at most things, but if you leave it to "auto" all the time you won't get the best photos. An interesting "effect" which only happened on one frame was the scattering of the light from a laser pointer of the Sri Lanka Frogmouth which is shown below. I've no idea what caused it, but thankfully it only affected one frame (the laser was still on for subsequent two frames but they were fine). It's up to the individual, but I think most birders take a similar view to me when it comes to apps lik...

MOTHer's Day  In common with many birders I have taken up moth-trapping. I first started in 2012 with an actinic trap and moved on to a mercury vapour Robinson type, which I constructed myself so as to not divert too many funds from birding and travel. I've never got really in to it, I don't dissect, I bought the ingredients to try some sugaring about two years ago but have never got round to it, and I only bother with micros if I (or obsidentify). can i.d. them quickly. My enjoyment comes from the potential to trap new moths, and I have done some at other locations when travelling. I took the actinic trap to Shetland last October and recorded exactly two moths, although the chalet I stay in isn't ideally located. I fully expected to be getting bored by now, but last year was incredible from the point of view of new moths to my back garden. I know the potential as we have a strip of brambles, nettles etc. running along our fence at the edge of a farmer's field, we...