[Closed] Time for a 'favourite bird' thread

Oyster Catcher and Lapwing

Both just remind me of holidays - from being a toddler, right up to now.

I get a real lift hearing my first lapwing every year. It's a sure sign that spring is here and summer is to follow.

Nice, scotroutes, even if you did make me have to look them up! 😉

Lapwing:

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Oyster Catcher:

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EDIT: Oops. I saw your video too late.

Bald Eagles. I've had the great good fortune to have been in North America a fair bit in 2016, and have just been gobsmacked by them. Soaring over the Squamish River in BC, and mooching along the Mississippi Barrier Islands in the sunshine. Just incredible.:-)

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Favourite ? Hmmm, tricky because there are too many. I'm not a fan of birds of prey, in more your local environment bird lover.. so Lapwings feature highly, Bitterns too, plenty of Waders, but I have encouraged these fellas into my garden over the last 4 years, before that I'd only see Blackbirds and Pidgeons, now I have Robins, Wrens, Collared Doves, Blue Tits and... Goldfinches.
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Lapwings or Peewits as I know them are great to watch, the fly like they do it for fun.

Oystercatchers are hard b'stards though. I've watched them fend off dogs, foxes and humans. Although friends of mine used to have a farmhouse which was patrolled by a menacing Pheasant called "Alan" it was right nutter and would try and stop people getting their cars.

Curlew's are another favourite of mine..
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Love these little chaps.
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Boobies... because... Boobies

Owls are my favourite but my favourite sound is the Curlew, especially in summer when I'm alone on the moors & theyr'e calling. Brilliant.

Used to be the Kestrel, but since we moved a couple of years ago it's got to be this one. Loads of them round here, and pretty much a companion on every local walk or ride.

(not my photo)
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Great Spotted Woodpecker

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There's one at the minute in a country park down the road from us. Unbelievably loud knocking - the Mrs didn't believe me when I told her what it was but then a park ranger confirmed it and pointed out its nest.

That's a nice pair of boobies too alexxx.

I like dunnocks. They are quite introverted and reclusive but have a lovely grey/blue chest plumage.

Boobies... because... Boobies

I was going to respond to that, then I made the mistake of performing a google image search for Tetrao tetrix by its common name...

Heron
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I don't like the gannet. They wet their nests.

All of them!

I do love a owl though (and you have to pronounce it "a owl").

The kingfisher, even though they seem to be quite common these days.

Bregante, have you been in the [url= http://www.vaughnscountrycafe.co.uk/ ]cafe[/url] at Tockholes? The one-way window is brilliant for viewing birds close-up, and woodpeckers often visit the feeding station.

Owl here too.

Baby!

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Love watching these guys circle in groups above the local mountains:

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(Black vulture)

Goldies for me. I love their song. In fact I have a preference for song birds.

Who doesn't love a.

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Apparently the lads tell me the wife had one of these when are was younger but her parents didn't seem to know.

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I love to see Merlin's - a few round here, zipping along at speed.
An Osprey is also something special.
In the garden it has to be our resident Wrens and Goldfinches.

Too many to choose from, but at the moment probably this:

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Drac, your coat.....

Sorry. She still has these.

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LOL at Finbarr Saunders up there.

We have a robin in our garden that has been known to sit on my bike when it's out in the back garden. Lovely little bird.

Love seeing these at work.

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And often see these locally if i'm out at the right time of day/night

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Long Tailed Tits. They used to gather in a bush outside my office window each morning, wait for the sparrows to arrive and rumble them.

Any other birds you don't like, CFH?

We've recently had a song thrush or two hanging round our garden. Lovely to hear them sing. And a wren. And a bullfinch.

We've been doing a fair bit of work in the garden, and robins have been a great moral support. I'm sure they're entirely in it for themselves, but it's good to have them around.

So robins for me. Might even be just the one robin. I've never seen more than one at a time. He followed us up round Hurt Hill and the Punchbowl this evening too, saw him a few times. 🙂

I just love having a couple of tits on my nuts.

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Is that baby owl for real?
That's the cutest thing I've ever seen.

House sparrows, Kestrels and now:

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For me its all about the sound rather than the looks and I'm lucky to have the following around the house at various times of the year:
1. Owls - very difficult to see.
2. Woodpeckers - quite difficult to see, and heard one today as I was composting the Christmas tree.
3. Canada geese - can't miss the blighters

One of these likes the thread, the other's getting bored...[img] [/img]

The Philippine Eagle, hands down. It is considered the largest of the extant eagles in the world in terms of length and wing surface.

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I've been honoured enough to see one in the wild over Quezon National Park.

Always like a nice pair

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More seriously, best one I've taken a shot of

[url= https://c3.staticflickr.com/4/3341/4637324234_741f67944a_z.jp g" target="_blank">https://c3.staticflickr.com/4/3341/4637324234_741f67944a_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/84MuW7 ]Curious Goldfinch[/url]

The Crow

To hatch a crow, a black rainbow...
bent in emptiness over emptiness... but flying.

Tom_W, that is one mean looking creature!

& Kenny, that's a cracking shot.

An ex boss of mine (one of the few I've ever had time for) takes some outstanding wildlife photo's. He's on FB but I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post a link?

Ninfan - I was going to respond to that, then I made the mistake of performing a google image search for Tetrao tetrix by its common name...

You're clearly not self employed then?

I love owls, we have a few tawny owls living near us, and it's great hearing them hooting at night. Also I like grouse as I see them often on MTB rides.
I was also taken with ptarmigans when I watched a TV programme about Svalbard, I liked the way they strut around on their short feathery legs!

I'm a bit of a fan of hummingbirds following a recent holiday, so I now have another 338 species to see and photograph!

[url= https://c3.staticflickr.com/1/579/31162536410_3dbe2d4798_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://c3.staticflickr.com/1/579/31162536410_3dbe2d4798_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/PtJ9ow ]IMG_9939 Antillean Crested Hummingbird[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/97014723@N07/ ]Tim Russon[/url], on Flickr

[url= https://c7.staticflickr.com/6/5526/31162538030_d31d22de7c_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://c7.staticflickr.com/6/5526/31162538030_d31d22de7c_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/PtJ9Ss ]IMG_9801 Green Throated Carib[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/97014723@N07/ ]Tim Russon[/url], on Flickr

Closer to home I've always enjoyed the busy little Long Tailed Tits and Nuthatches

[url= https://c7.staticflickr.com/9/8887/28249221094_77d405688c_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://c7.staticflickr.com/9/8887/28249221094_77d405688c_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/K3hDf7 ]IMG_5831 Long Tailed Tit[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/97014723@N07/ ]Tim Russon[/url], on Flickr

[url= https://c3.staticflickr.com/9/8615/28582017530_fa58d8cef2_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://c3.staticflickr.com/9/8615/28582017530_fa58d8cef2_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/KxGj2G ]IMG_5255 Nuthatch[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/97014723@N07/ ]Tim Russon[/url], on Flickr

As a kid puffins were my favourite UK bird
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And the golden eagle [img] [/img] worldwide.

These days the morepork is on the list too. We've got at least one in the garden, hear them most nights but have yet to spot one (at home anyway, saw one while away camping last year)
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Love seeing the Goldies on the feeders, and I've always had a bit of a soft-spot for the humble sparrow, such cheeky, argumentative little birds.
I have a particular thing for raptors, though, and corvids, just because they're such smart, intelligent birds, and to watch a red kite cruising along a ridge, or a Raven tumbling in flight, seemingly just for the sheer thrill of flying will stop me in my tracks.
I was watching a pair of Ravens flying over Brean Down today, making little croaking calls to each other, one of them doing tumbling wing-overs in the sunlight, just a beautiful thing to see.

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My favourite bird, the swallow.

A sure sign that summer is coming or going. I love seeing my first spring swallow, and the end of winter and short days.

I've sat for ages, baking in the sun and watching flocks of these zoom inches from the ground catching flies. Also watching flocks of them gathering on the wires waiting for their flight to Namibia. A nice mid ride rest opportunity.

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I'm with count, I think crows are awesome!

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Yes, corvids are amazing. We were feeding one malt loaf and nuts on the Glyders last year. Wonderful to get so close. I love to hear the curlews up on the moors too.

Really hard to choose , mrscarlos likes puffins ,I think I like either wrens cos they sing a lovely tune or goldfinches as they're a good flash of colour in the garden.

Choice is made harder as we have so many different species visit the garden partly due I suppose to the closeness of the local wood 200m away.

Little owl. Absolute favourite
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I don't know where to start. If I had to pick a favourite it would be the swift. Not the most spectacular looker but a perfect design for its incredible feats. Nothing says summer to me like a flock of swifts swooping over the garden. But runners up:

Australian magpie for its song:

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Total badass of bird.

Superb blue fairy wren, for being tiny and very blue.

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Bit of a battle between the tui

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and the kea

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But I'll go for the tui because we used to have one that came into the house and checked itself out in the mirror.

Honorary mention for the yellow-tailed black cockatoo.

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And finally the sparrow hawk just for being intense.

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Crows someone mentioned ?

Stunning birds, idealistically independent, always on the look out.

Here's one I snapped yesterday on a very early surf session, it felt like it was just me and him looking out to sea.. fabulous.

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I love the corvids above all, I like a dipper for the way they live around water.
Managed to snap this a couple of weeks ago, wasn't quick enough with the camera the week before when I pulled up next to one sitting on the crash barrier about five feet from my head.
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I'm not generally a fan of double entendres, but I do like to slip one in occasionally

The goldcrest. I remember seeing one in my garden as a child (8yo?) and being utterly amazed. I still get excited when I (rarely) see them. Strangely enough I was sat on my car at Leigh Woods in Bristol after a quick early morning ride on Friday and some movement caught my eye: not one, or two but three of them about 5 feet away. That absolutely made my day.

i cannot pick just one i'm afraid but i do have a soft spot for these fellows (wood pugeons) but i like all pigeons i will add 🙂 [img] [/img] not my picture btw.

i can see them nearly every day from my kitchen window.

It's got to be the Curlew, for its evocative haunting call. When I hear it in the fields behind our house I know Summer's coming.

House sparrows. Awesome little creatures, properly communal and sociable. I like puffins too, like little Pepsi cans with stubby wings.

love these guys

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normally stay for about 2 mins then off, can't get rid of them today 🙂
I also have a soft spot for Dunnocks, so busy doing there thing they almost totally oblivious to humans.

i like tits

also in the garden this morning
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If you ask my daughter, her favourite bird is the Scale Crested Pygmy Tyrant, mainly for the name...

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I came within inches of colliding with a Golden Eagle one evening, it's wingspan pretty much covered my truck windscreen. I took this as a form or approval from the eagle. So they would have to be up there.

Also, have a pair of big red (ish) buzzards in the forest across the road. They tend to get a bit narky when I go anywhere near them so I just leave them to it.

The hoopoe (having spent a lot of 2016 in Lanzarote). Love their zebra stripes and the fact that when flat their crest feathers make them look like they're wearing a tiny pointy aero helmet.

Loving lots of these. I've been enjoying seeing Waxwings this year:
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The tawny owl is my favorite, the photo of the baby one up there is gorgeous.
Our garden is a wildlife haven, luckily the feeders are full of birds. They are great barometers of the weather, emptying feeders on a daily rate knowing that a chilly spell is on the way.

Kingfisher... As a bird and a beer

Naomi Cambell - nice long neck.

I reckon it's a tie between Weka and Kea just for being awesome but with honorable mentions for fantails for cuteness and Vultures for just being f***** huge.

Waxwings thats what i saw up at Comrie croft trees full of them, i read they're from Scandanavia that must be why the quiff looks like Mika Hakinen must use the same barber

Gotta be either Long Tail Tits, Gold Finches or Red Kites

Skylark - hear their song and I'm a teenager all over again on one of those long summer rides exploring the 'amphire/wiltshire chalk downlands on my Reg Harris

The tawny owl is my favorite

Come and take and take the one that lives outside my window away please.

Quite cool stepping out ths front doir to meet a tawny owl on the railings less than 2 meters away!

Not very exotic, but it always makes my day to see one (or usually the pair) of these:
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Same goes for herons.

Got loads of favourites for various memories of happy days out watching wildlife with my brother, but today I'll say the tiny Goldcrest, since I saw one out of my office window earlier:

(Not my picture)
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We have a breeding Goshawk pair nearby and seeing them thunder through the trees is staggering.
Other than that there's a tawny owl that often used to fly alongside in one bit of singletrack. I think it accompanied me 10-12 times one summer.

One of those two!