Titchwell Marsh RSPB Nature Reserve, Norfolk, GB, 27-Dec-2012

2:45 PM - 4:00 PM

Protocol: Traveling
1.5 mile(s)
Comments: Xmas holiday walk with Kim as we neared the end of our time in Norfolk. We walked to the beach & back.
Weather: overcast, breezy & cold.
32 species

Pink-footed Goose X
Greylag Goose X
Brent Goose X
Mute Swan X
Mallard X
Northern Shoveler X
Northern Pintail 1 male on freshwater marsh.
Eurasian Teal X
Little Grebe X
Little Egret X
Eurasian Marsh-Harrier X
Common Moorhen X
European Golden-Plover 100 + on freshwater marsh.
Eurasian Oystercatcher X
Common Redshank X
Eurasian Curlew X
Ruddy Turnstone X
Black-headed Gull X
Common Gull X
Great Black-backed Gull X
Common Wood-Pigeon X
Eurasian Collared-Dove X
Common Kestrel X
Great Tit X
European Robin X
Eurasian Blackbird X
European Starling X
Common Chaffinch X
Brambling 1 feeding on the feeders at the visitors' centre. It was a stand-out bird, very dapper in its distinct plumage. A really nice & unexpected one to see since my last one was nearly 20+ years ago in Scotland!
European Greenfinch X
Common Linnet 8 approx.
House Sparrow X

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S13623690

Apponagansett Beach & Bay inc. Knowles Beach & Marsh, Bristol, MA, USA, 9-Dec-2012

11:00 AM - 12:30 PM

Protocol: Traveling
1.5 mile(s)
Comments: Usual walk with Kim around the area during a visit to the in-laws.
Weather: bright, sunny, cold.
15 species

American Black Duck X - at Knowles.
Mallard X
Bufflehead X
Red-breasted Merganser X
Great Blue Heron X
Red-shouldered Hawk 1 perched in a tree in the farm/garden on the corner of W Smith Neck, it flew off towards the bay. Barred tail & smaller size identified.
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull X
Lesser Black-backed Gull 1 amongst the ring-billed & herring gulls in the parking area at Apponagansett. Yellow legs & slaty back, similar size to herring gull all helped with the id, plus a familiar bird from Europe.
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1 on the trees at Apponogansett.
Black-capped Chickadee X
Carolina Wren 1 in the same garden as white-throated sparrows on the way back.
American Robin X
Song Sparrow X
White-throated Sparrow X - in a garden on the way back.

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S13623600

Boston Public Garden, Suffolk, MA, US, 30-Nov-2012

2:00 PM - 2:30 PM

Protocol: Traveling
0.5 mile(s)
Comments: Downtown after job interviews I met with Kim & tried to locate a new owl species in the gardens after reports on Massbird.
Weather: cold & cloudy.
3 species

Red-tailed Hawk 1 enthusiastically dismembering a pigeon it had just caught, on a low branch, much to onlookers interest & occasional revulsion. Plucked feathers fell from the tree like confetti.

Barred Owl 1 eventually tracked down, high in a willow tree on the eastern side of the pond, north of the foot-bridge. It sat on a branch, bundled against the weather and barely moved, but unmistakably one of the owls reported over the preceding days, part of an influx. Life-tick.

American Robin X - many particularly on a playing field as we made out way out.

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S13920424

Stump Pass Beach SP, Charlotte, FL, USA, 24-Nov-2012

10:00 PM - 12:30 AM

Protocol: Stationary
Comments: Final day of the Thanksgiving vacation on a nearby beach with Kim. This time I went for a walk down the path through the mangroves & tree & then back up the beach.
Weather: warm & sunny.
12 species

Magnificent Frigatebird 1 heading in (SE) off the sea; probably immature or female.
Double-crested Cormorant X
Brown Pelican X
Great Egret 1 also on intercoastal.
Snowy Egret 1 on intercoastal.
Osprey X
Ruddy Turnstone X
Sanderling X
Laughing Gull X
Royal Tern X
Black Skimmer 50 + gathered together on a sandbank between being disturbed by wandering fishermen & tourists.
Blue-grey Gnatcatcher 1 flitting among mangrove shrubs next to intercoastal water; long tail, white 'spectacles', grey-blue, white-ish otherwise. Life-tick.

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S13623309

Siesta Key, Sarasota, FL, USA, 23-Nov-2012

11:40 AM - 5:30 PM

Protocol: Stationary
Comments: Another day on another beach with Kim, father-in-law & briefly mother-in-law & cousins. An amazing powder beach, very busy but some good birds moving through as well.
Weather: war & sunny, breeze NE (offshore).
10 species

Red-breasted Merganser 1 female flying at sea; white panel on wings.
Brown Pelican X
Turkey Vulture 1 distant.
Osprey X
Ruddy Turnstone X
Sanderling X
Laughing Gull X
Ring-billed Gull X
Royal Tern X
Sandwich Tern X

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S13623261

Stump Pass Beach SP, Charlotte, FL, USA, 22-Nov-2012

10:30 AM - 1:00 PM

Protocol: Stationary
Comments: Another day on the beach with Kim; bird species same as previous day plus the below, also a small group of dolphins passed close to the shore.
Weather: warm & sunny.
1 species

Black Scoter 20 approx. heading north at sea. Distinctive 'ribbon' in flight with yellow bills.

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S13623220