There's only 1 Dennis the Menace...
Northumbrian Birder, Naturalist, fan of Ennion, RARichardson, Busby, Jarvis, McCanch, Wallace, Watkins-Pitchford and rarest of all, Notebook users... Local Patcher on the Northumberland coast.
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A few days ago I learned you can skip the AI summary feature in Google by adding "-AI" to your search. I love it!
Apologies in advance if you know but if you add " -ai" to the end of any Google search it doesn't do that standard ai summary. Saves on the rubbish and a tiny wee bit "greener" on the energy use front
In my experience, the last thing you want is a TRUE British wildlife experience. That usually means wandering miles of farmland seeing very little!
111 years ago today the last Passenger Pigeon on earth, which we called Martha, died in Cincinnati Zoo at around 12:30pm local time. The most abundant bird species Earth had ever seen had been driven to extinction. markavery.info/2025/09/01/p... #cincinatti #ohio #extinction #birds #martha
No, you're alright...😊
Oh no, never heard of them and will live out the rest of my days never trying them...
#RepostaWryneck
A Grey Partridge in the sun. Illustrated for a bird report I'm writing about my local patch. #birds #birdart #watercolour #painting
Nice to see some recently fledged Ringed Plover at Redcar this week - lovely scalloped feathers and less boldly masked than the adults. 🪶🐡 #wildlifeArt
Does someone bite you when you watch it?
😵
😉
Porthgwarra totals 6-1 pm (31st Aug) 841 Corys Shearwater (video) 432 Great Shearwater 6 Wilson’s 47 Euro Stormy 1 Balearic 24 Sooty 3 Grey Phalarope 1 Black Tern 31 Arctic Tern 4 Long-tailed Skua (all ads.) 6 Great Skua 1 Puffin #cornwallbirding #birding
Fresh as, they start Aug Bank Hol here...😄
Here's away.... #FirstMincePieoftheYear #Northumberland
#UKBirding #NEBirding #Northumberland
This morning had Green Sand, Ruff, Greenshank, 2 Black T Godwits and Marsh Harrier...the sea was as quiet, with only a few Terns and distant Gannets. We need a change in wind direction. Hopefully today's southerly doesn't get stuck there til November .. #Lowcarbonbirding #localpatch
Happy birthday young man...🍻
The past few days have bought some welcome arrivals, including a couple of Barred Warblers, a scattering of Pied Flycatchers, two Wood Warblers and a Wood Sandpiper. Read more on our latest sightings www.fairislebirdobs.co.uk/latest_sight... 📸 A Penn
Loved it Dave, hilarious. Quint should have his own TV show...😄
I'm being a bit unfair here. I've had some top birds on my #LocalPatch over the years and even in my garden, but they're few and far between. Most good days are weather related, and on a lot of days there's no focus. It's not a patch you'd drive far to get to... #Lowcarbonbirding
13 yrs ago today a huuge flock of 127 Garganey on the Ouse Washes, just part of which appears here. I still haven’t come across a higher U.K. total. #birding
You really are...
That's me too, several dog walks a day, gets me around a non specific ransom bit of over farmed coast...👍
I live in my patch Tim so it's kind of forced on me...😊
My 6th garden Scarce Bordered Straw in 16 years last night was the first since the 2022 influx. #teammoth #Northumberland #MigrantMoths
I'm selling my Swarovski NL Pure 8x42 binoculars if anyone is interested. Excellent condition, hardly been used outdoors. Full details on the page linked below, will post (UK only) at cost if required. Any reposts much appreciated, thanks. #UKBirding #BirdingGear lros.org.uk/for-sale-wan...
I am blind to pheasants....
At least I have seawatching when the weather is favourable.
What a bird... #RepostaWryneck
It's an hour and a half, a full film. Get it on a bigger screen but maybe not for kids .
August has the largest bird populations than any other time of year with all new young on the wing. I used to enjoy flocks of dispersing juvs coming through plus anything can fly by, but yesterday there was nothing at all!
Lee isn't in it. It's a new American view it's excellent...
Anyone else got a #LocalPatch like this? I do. Yesterday I barely raised my bins, there were just no birds! 🤷🏽♂️ #Lowcarbonbirding
This evening's totals. 1 Robin 2 Lesser Whitethroat, heard only 2 Wren, heard only 1 Blue Tit, heard only And that's it. I wish I was joking, I really do. On the plus side, thankfully few seagulls. #HytheLagoons #EssexBirding
Watched it yesterday. Hilarious, the Beavis and Butthead of Birding...😆
#RepostaWryneck
Just in case there aren't enough photos of this lovely bird here's my Wryneck photo. Just happened to be walking past Turf Lock, didn't know it was still here - so not really twitching is it? First I've ever photographed so happy it stayed on and behaved so well. #DevonBirds #LowCarbonBirding
Popped over to Rockland Broad to see Norfolk’s first pair of breeding Ospreys. Two healthy young were feeding well
Probably my least satisfying twitch: Fantailed Warbler, Walberswick-saved by brief scope views perched in reeds at 200m😜
Never had that happen Dick?
You know what I say..... #RepostaWryneck
Beyond me mate. Its maybe written in gammon?
It says 'STOPT HE BOATSi' . On the breakwater of a fishing harbour. Are there any other ways to judge the IQ of the perpetrators?
Thats the Amble Fishing Industry fucked then...
A nice fresh Teleiopsis diffinis in the trap last night. #Northumberland #teammoth #Gelechids
I can't find those posts even when I'm looking for them!
Always repost a Wryneck...
Barred warbler Kessingland 26/08/2025 The more usual feeding behaviour. Still there today, but better in the morning, when it starts feeding - after which it can be elusive. @suffolkbirdgroup.bsky.social #suffolkbirding #birds
August 27th: From the archives - on this day! 🦉 A fortuitous 'lifer' on this day in 1996 - Sharp-tailed Sandpiper in Foryd Bay, Gwynedd #UKbirding
New approach Lucy McRobert has revised her birding styles and methods, which now include setting goals, tidying up her life list and appreciating the birds themselves:
*when I say first vc68 but a dozen county records, Northumberland is VC67 and VC68 to avoid confusion...
Migrant moths arent a big thing in North #Northumberland but even up here a few were in the trap last night. 1 Diamond Back, 1 Beet Moth, 2 Rush Veneer and best of all my first county Palpita vitrialis. Possibly a VC68 first? There are only about a dozen county records... #teammoth #MigrantMoths
They're all upside down!😃
Copper Underwing agg uless you have a shot of the underside open hindwing?
Whilst our Rowan tree is now totally bare of berries after starlings, woodpigeons and blackbirds have been at them, our two small apple trees have never had so many...Waxwings might be lucky after all...
Heath Rustic from last night's trap,also Barred Chestnut, and the first Brown spot Pinion of the year. #teammoth #Northumberland
Always repost a Wryneck....
Shameless plug - here is the link to my 1970s birding memories write-up, plus a couple of files full of Hawfinch - enjoy! northdownsandbeyond.blogspot.com/p/hawfinch-c...
A bit stunned when this Bridled Tern appear in my ‘scope 150m infront of the hide at Fife Ness. It then hung around for 3 hours roosting on a buoy and feeding inshore (when pic taken) before heading off NE. A first for Fife. Glad we chose today for the all day seawatch! #birdingFife #rarebirdsUK
I've seen a few people get new or new for year 6 stripe. This has been one of my commonest moths over the last 4 weeks with up to 35 a night...I assumed they were abundant everywhere..
Bridled Tern, Fife Ness #birds #birdingscotland
Zitting cisticola Walberswick, Suffolk, 23/08/2025 I thought I was having a good day with an image of one of the juveniles from the 1st recorded breeding of Zitting cisticola in the UK. On review I found four juveniles and the adult female🤯 @suffolkbirdgroup.bsky.social #suffolkbirding #ukbirding
Zitting Cisticola Breeds in Britain for the First Time Family party in Suffolk confirms long-anticipated arrival of a new breeding species on the British mainland www.rarebirdalert.co.uk/v2/Content/Z...
Bridled Tern north just infront of the hide and now sat on a buoy at Fife Ness 😬 #birdingFife #rarebirdsUK
If we make it that far...
See my blog for recipe... boulmerbirder.blogspot.com/2018/08/look...
I've had up to 4 OL per night since early July on bashed fruit and sugar solution. None in the trap 10 mtrs away.
Give over! I tell you on bonfire night if there's going to be a good year...
Adult Paul. Juvs a very ginger with a darker head. This one has that gold spangling effect...
Aye they like a bit of meat...
August 21st: A Black-winged Kite, what a delight! ☺️ Seen this morning from the 'Shepherd's Hut', Summer Walkway at Slimbridge WWT, Gloucestershire. #UKbirding
And coat pockets...
Aye I heard gossip too but no one ever showed plausible captive origin. A full winged unringed White Pelican that crossed Europe.
What zoo?
Wild that. It had been tracked all over Europe on its travels.
A4 watercolour and graphite commission of the Bempton Pale-legged Leaf Warbler.
The young Sanderlings are very smart with their black-and white checks and golden collars; these two were hunting along the tideline yesterday. 🐡🪶#wildlifeArt
Try the sugar, they love it...this one arrived at midnight at a holiday cottage in Westleton, Suffolk....
#LocalPatch #Northumberland Sea 5pm - 6.30pm Long tailed Skua 1 not adult. Mobbed Bonxie on sea briefly. N Arctic Skua 1 S Bonxie 1 lingering Manx 4 #UKBirding
She must be naturally gifted at using AI? It's not art though, it's just asking the computer to do it for you. I wonder if Olympic medallists, Wimbledon winners, Golf Pros etc use AI to get to the top? No, it's just hard graft and dedication.
No one says an athlete wins gold by being naturally gifted. Golfers , Tennis pros, Boxers aren't naturally gifted. Why do people think you can pick up a pencil and be Lars Johnsson? It like learning to write, all over again.
Been lucky enough to find one or two Greenish in #Northumberland in the past. Seen a good few more too... Here's an old submission... #Birdart #UKBirding
We are trying to cope without harming them....
Apparently it is? 🤷🏽♂️ Who knows what this lot get up to....
Theyre coming out of tiny gaps in pipe boxing etc. Ive released about 60+ from the bathroom today
Not stuck, they're still coming in!
Aye I contacted a falconers FB page. They told me these birds are not lost, the owner knows exactly where they are. Our tagged bird from last Sunday hasn't been seen again, probably taken back in.
They're deliberate releases. Called Wild Hacking. Falconers boot them out for a period at a spot, feed them in the evening then recatch them when they've trained themselves!
About 10 years ago I did a session here and an older chap asked if he could take some to show his wife. He took 3 pots, Garden Tiger, Poplar Hawk and Burnished Brass to release in his garden when done. He has been a moth trapper ever since! 🙂
Ah I see, tricky that. When I do public trap openings, I tell guests not to touch until an egg tray is counted then I pass it over and they can photograph til their hearts content...
Vanna, I've sealed all gaps with duct tape! Now I can hear a steady,unnerving, hum...🐝😬
Brindled Green and Vine's Rustic, both site firsts and both rare in VC68. If the Vine's is accepted, it would be a VC first. #teammoth #Northumberland
Dear me, just gone into the bathroom to find 25 Wasps on the window. Inside! Must be a nest somewhere getting in through pipe boxing. All lifted safely out the open window. No harm done...
Most of these things sit still, no need for a pot shot? Early morning best before heat rises...
I've added some recent work to the Illustrations page of my website. Please have a look if you have a few moments. Thanks. www.ajm-wildlife-art.co.uk/illustrations #art #wildlifeart #birds #ukbirding
