What have you seen

Unusual occurrence today. Had 2 different Wagtails feeding in the garden, a Pied and a Grey. Neither stayed long.

Today at Saltburn there was a seal enjoying itself directly in front of the Pier. The we spotted a male Long Tailed Duck doing the same.

Up on Great Orme above Llandudno today. A Peregrine and a Chough were the highlights apart from the views of distant Snowdonia peaking over the hills above Conwy.

Our last site on the way home near Limoges and we had treecreepers and nuthatches on the same tree next to the van whilst eating breakfast as there is a lake next to the site plenty of cormorants flying about.  Saw hundreds of Lapwings whilst on the move towards home one flock at least two/three hundred.  WN I would like to see a chough but wrong part of the country here, just filled p the bird feeders and will see what turns up, very mild here 17C but had very strong winds yesterday.

To add to  the above now got 6 Wood Larks in our field their numbers are go up here only used to be 2 for a few years so must like it here lot of food about in our field.

For the last few weeks we've been getting a male bullfinch on our feeders.  A beautiful bird.  Last year we saw it as well, but only a few times.  It now visits every day, 3 or 4 times.  

We also get 2 nuthatches several times a day, and we're really pleased that the GSW still visits 3 or 4 times a day as well.  

In contrast, at our last house, which  bordered onto fields, we got a lot of sparrows and starlings, now we back onto a lot of established trees, and there is a cemetery at the bottom of the small cul-de-sac, we don't get any sparrows or starlings.  We get the above though, as well as various tits (great, blue, coal and long-tailed) and chaffinches, green finches and lots of goldfinches, there can be 12 or 14 of those at any one time.

Interesting, the difference in visitors.

WN I would like to see a chough but wrong part of the country here

RK - You'll have to get into the Pyrenees, Alps or Massif Central to see them. I meant to mention to Oneputt when I recently sent him some info on the Pyrenees that they can be found there and the Yellow Billed ones especially up at Garvanie so hope he can pick it up from here.

You don't seem to be lacking in birds though!

Ina, it's funny but we were lacking in Sparrows for many a year and all of a sudden we seem to have inherited a flock of about 40. We have had some new house build nearby so maybe they've been turfed out. We used to get a couple of Tree Sparrows when we first moved in about 30+ years ago but the local farmer stopped grain production shortly after and they were gone.

A chough? That's just a crow with lipstick, isn't it?

There are chough’s in both the German and Austrian Alps.

And very tame Alpine Choughs hang out near all the French ski resorts. 😊