wildlife

[Steve Garvie]

Is this one of the Nearctic Calidris?

[ian mcdonald]

It is an un-common visitor to our area from north america.

[Steve Garvie]

Aye, thought so.

Is it a Pectoral Sandpiper?

[ian mcdonald]

Yes Steve. I will post some more tomorrow.

[Steve Garvie]

They have bred at least once in Scotland (Loch of Strathbeg, I think it was 2004). Displaying birds have also been seen in the Western Isles and Caithness.

[Karaba]

After all, I have no chance to identify it : I even don't know its existence ! and I'm really not sure that I would have notice that it's a visitor if I had saw it in my telescope. I'm far from the coast and only used to see the common shorebirds.

[Chris Johnson]

I think Ian caught us all out with the American vagrant.

Living on the north-west Atlantic coast, we get a regular number of American waders, especially in the autumn.

[ian mcdonald]

Hello Yvain, I am also many miles from the coast (about 50). In our area we are lucky to get wildlife visitors from the south and the north. We are fairly sheltered from extremes of weather as well. The prevailing wind is from the west and we sometimes get birds from north america coming over. Sometimes we also get birds from the far north such as winter visitors like whooper swans and pink footed geese. Here are some more pictures.

[Karaba]

I'm 140 miles from mediterranean see and 300 from atlantic coast  Even common shorebirds are rare ! I lived a long time near lac du Der famous for cranes, geese and white-tailed eagle but not for lost american birds. In France, the best place for twitchers are Ouessant Isle at the western tip of Britain but it's really too far and I'm not twitcher, I even become less an less a birdwatcher and more and more a plantwatcher and plantgrower 

1 : Cupido minimus - Small Blue
2 : Stercorarius parasiticus - Parasitic Jaeger
3 : Salvia verbenaca - Wild Clary (I don't see the leaves but flowers seem small). If not Wild Clary, Meadow Clary
4 : Lychnis flos-cuculi - Ragged-Robin
5 : Thymus polytrichus (or another Thymus gp. serpyllum) - Wild Thyme

[ian mcdonald]

All correct Yvain Here are some more.

[Roma]

If you didn't see 'Attenborough and the Empire of Ants' last Thursday it is repeated tonight on BBC 2 at 7.00 pm.  It is filmed in the Jura mountains and there are a few plants as well as the ants.  A good look at spring crocuses and Gentiana verna, not just a fleeting glimpse which is usual in wildlife documentaries.

[ian mcdonald]

Are there any offers for the last quiz?

[Matt T]

The ones I can do off the top of my head are:
1. Water lobelia - Lobelia dortmanna
3. Hooded crow - Corvus cornix
4. Roesel's bush cricket - Metrioptera roeselii

[Gail]

The ones I can do off the top of my head are:
1. Water lobelia - Lobelia dortmanna
3. Hooded crow - Corvus cornix
4. Roesel's bush cricket - Metrioptera roeselii

That is a very impressive top of the head Matt if it retains scientific names too!

[Matt T]

I confess I had to check the scientific name for the bush cricket! I've not seen one since moving north so it was lost in my memory banks.