Another day, another lifer!
Searching for birds to add to our year list
My Birding this week
Once again we spent a day last weekend at the coast, looking to improve our wader ID skills.
This time we visited a new-to-us site: Hook with Warsash Local Nature Reserve, on the River Hamble near Southampton, Hampshire.
We chose this location as we had found on eBird that Glossy Ibis had been noted there. This was a bird we had never seen, and is an infrequent visitor to the UK, although sightings are increasing.
We were very lucky to see our hoped-for Glossy Ibis a short time after we arrived at the reserve, taking my species list for 2022 to 173!
For a full trip report, and more photos, check out the blog on my website.
Bird news
When was the last time you cleaned your bird feeders?
Relistening to last week’s recommended episode on feeding garden birds prompted me to take a look at my garden feeders. With the recent rain and humidity, the feeders had started to become clogged.
As it was sunny last weekend I cleaned all my feeders.
It’s always a bit of a job as you have to take the feeders apart with a screwdriver, and there is always the worry of dropping the nuts and screws down a crack in the paving.
While I know that keeping feeders and birdbaths clean helps stop the spread of potentially fatal diseases between birds, and is the responsible thing to do if you care about the birds you attract to your garden, I don’t do it as frequently as I should. Washing, rinsing and air drying the parts before reassembly means that it can take an hour or more to complete the task.
I’m trying out a new design of feeder from Finches Friend (bottom left in the photo). It has an easily released base to make cleaning a simple task. This will encourage me to ensure a thorough clean happens more frequently.
I’ll be speaking to the designer of this feeder in an upcoming episode, who is on a mission to educate people about feeding garden birds responsibly.
If you have any questions about feeding garden birds, please put them in the comments and I’ll select some to ask during the episode.
Global Bird Weekend
There are just a few more weeks until the Global Bird Weekend in early October!
Members of The Casual Birder Podcast Team will be out birding in their own locations on October 8th and sharing their checklists to the team’s eBird account.
We will also be raising funds to support BirdLife international, the official charity of the event through our JustGiving page.
Please support our fundraising, by making a donation if you are able, or by sharing the link with your followers, friends and family.
Thank you!
Latest podcast episode
This week’s episode has again been delayed (sorry) so here is a past episode you may not have heard.
Back in February 2019 I was in San Diego in preparation for a whale watching tour. I took a walk around the streets in La Jolla, California to see what birds were around the neighbourhood.
This episode was recorded on location there.
Keep in touch
I love hearing about your bird experiences or your recommendations for places to go birding.
Tell me about them here:
Video of the Week
This week’s video is one of the last really good views of a Bullfinch that I have had. It was outside our front door eating our Rowan berries, on the morning of a hard frost.
I hope you enjoy it.
Support The Casual Birder Podcast
If you would like to support the podcast and the other things I create, you can buy me a virtual coffee at Ko-fi.com
Another way to support the show is to talk about it on social media and recommend it to your friends. Do tag me in any posts you write.
Until next week, happy birding!
