Another pointer to the impending winter is the October arrival of Fox Sparrows. At least five are around the area, paying regular visits to my seed carpet (which will one day attract a Harris's Sparrow). In lousy weather I took this short video. Any explanation why the sparrows continue to 'garden' for seeds when they are surrounded by several hundred thousand.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
Out with the old
The digital age means that there is little point keeping thousands of slides, especially as most of them are pretty awful anyway, so I decided to continue the process of copying them using a digital copying attachment for my Canon Rebel. I have worked my way through the Gambia slides so thought I would post a few here. I still have thousands to go from other trips so expect more poor to average images of things you cannot identify.
Gambia is one of the West Coast African countries which can be pretty much covered in two weeks. This we did in 2001, taking a package tour and getting a local guide. The trip worked out pretty well, lots of great birds, a very genial guide and most of the hoped for species seen.
On the down side I did manage to get one of the dysentries, I broke the golden rule and ate some tepid prawns in Marie-Salmonella sauce and ended up going home in a coma! For a bad flier its a great way to travel although the subsequent squitting through the eye of a needle for two weeks is not recommended.
Incidentally, I recommend the Senegambia Hotel as the place to stay in Gambia, the grounds are superb for birding with zero hassle (and they were not responsible for the Prawn Cocktail), the rooms are fine, the food good and the staff very friendly. It really is worth the extra cost.
Western Plantain-eater (below). A big obvious bird.
Wattled Plover with wattles
Gambia is one of the West Coast African countries which can be pretty much covered in two weeks. This we did in 2001, taking a package tour and getting a local guide. The trip worked out pretty well, lots of great birds, a very genial guide and most of the hoped for species seen.
On the down side I did manage to get one of the dysentries, I broke the golden rule and ate some tepid prawns in Marie-Salmonella sauce and ended up going home in a coma! For a bad flier its a great way to travel although the subsequent squitting through the eye of a needle for two weeks is not recommended.
Incidentally, I recommend the Senegambia Hotel as the place to stay in Gambia, the grounds are superb for birding with zero hassle (and they were not responsible for the Prawn Cocktail), the rooms are fine, the food good and the staff very friendly. It really is worth the extra cost.
Western Plantain-eater (below). A big obvious bird.
Wattled Plover with wattles
A White-crowned Robin-Chat which is actually more like a thrush.
Red-billed Hornbills, very common.
African Pygmy Kingfisher, perhaps a misnomer as I think they actually eat insects and fish, not pygmys.
Little Bee-eater, not very big.
Hooded Vulture. They feed these things daily with disgruntled guests (just kidding, they use noisy kids really), they will walk up to you and try to eat your shoes.
Yellow-crowned Gonolek, stunning looking bird.
Egyptian Plover, one of the must see World birds. We took a battered Mercedes 18 hours up river to the town of Basse to find this bird.
Bearded Barbet, its a barbet with the beard.
Yellow-billed Shrike above, female Bufflehead below (the latter is not a Gambian species).
Hooded Vulture. They feed these things daily with disgruntled guests (just kidding, they use noisy kids really), they will walk up to you and try to eat your shoes.
Yellow-crowned Gonolek, stunning looking bird.
Egyptian Plover, one of the must see World birds. We took a battered Mercedes 18 hours up river to the town of Basse to find this bird.
Bearded Barbet, its a barbet with the beard.
Yellow-billed Shrike above, female Bufflehead below (the latter is not a Gambian species).Saturday, October 11, 2008
Autumn colour
I took the opportunity to spend an hour at the pits on Wednesday 8th October, the weather was fair and there were a few birds to enjoy.
Despite the dearth of shorebird habitat, the pits have continued to suprise and I added Baird's Sandpiper to the year list. Also there were three Pectoral Sandpipers, three Black-bellied Plovers and a Dunlin.
With the influx of geese comes the autumn cull by local shooters. Judging by the 15 or so corpses around the pits they are hitting and wounding more than in recent years, leaving them to die in their pits roost. I suppose I should be grateful that they don't shoot there and long may that continue. A few Snow Geese are also around but I did not see any casualties amongst them.
A opportunist Coyote was hanging around on the far shore of the pits, perhaps 600m away, hoping for a goose meal. I took a short video before he realised the attention he was attracting and reverted to being wily.
Moving on to the small wood by the sports complex car par, lots of American Robins were feasting on the berry crop while Yellow-rumped Warblers chipped from every bush. I had hoped to find a Winter Wren, I have them in the garden now and so there had to be a chance. As good fortune would have it I found a Brown Creeper instead, Pits tick 295.
Finally a pretty shot of the trees in the garden. Dark-eyed Juncos are definately in with perhaps 20 around, time to put the sparrow seed out.
Despite the dearth of shorebird habitat, the pits have continued to suprise and I added Baird's Sandpiper to the year list. Also there were three Pectoral Sandpipers, three Black-bellied Plovers and a Dunlin.
With the influx of geese comes the autumn cull by local shooters. Judging by the 15 or so corpses around the pits they are hitting and wounding more than in recent years, leaving them to die in their pits roost. I suppose I should be grateful that they don't shoot there and long may that continue. A few Snow Geese are also around but I did not see any casualties amongst them.
A opportunist Coyote was hanging around on the far shore of the pits, perhaps 600m away, hoping for a goose meal. I took a short video before he realised the attention he was attracting and reverted to being wily.
Moving on to the small wood by the sports complex car par, lots of American Robins were feasting on the berry crop while Yellow-rumped Warblers chipped from every bush. I had hoped to find a Winter Wren, I have them in the garden now and so there had to be a chance. As good fortune would have it I found a Brown Creeper instead, Pits tick 295.
Finally a pretty shot of the trees in the garden. Dark-eyed Juncos are definately in with perhaps 20 around, time to put the sparrow seed out.
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