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is this the active birdwatching thread? My partner and I started keeping a list this year, for something to do during lockdown. Our best find so far is a Snow Bunting, which we heard was nearby from a birding website. Still it took two days and sixteen miles of walking to find. This is a photo I took 
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Jan 10, 2021 19:51
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met some lovely little turnstones today: There are some Brent Geese nearby but I couldn't get close enough for a good photo: 
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Jan 19, 2021 22:33
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I left a Facebook group today because of weirdly aggressive people in it. I would have thought bird watching was like the chillest hobby there is, but it seems it is not.
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Feb 3, 2021 21:07
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BetterLekNextTime posted:That sucks. Online groups can be great for getting help with IDs and learning good places to go. Birders are definitely not monolithic, and sometimes folks assume only their particular brand of birding is important. Add to that the traditional demographic of birders and Fox News viewers is pretty similar, and there's a recipe for occasional disappointment. There's much more one could say about that but I'd rather focus on actual birds... Thanks. Yeah I understand. It was just my first time reaching out for help. wanted to know what something was and it was a bit of knock to be yelled at for not being able to differentiate two identical looking birds. Felt like an avian helldump. my partner had a much nicer time asking on a webforum. perhaps my mistake was talking to a facebook group. I saw three new birds yesterday, which was cool, but my highlight was seeing this little stonechat taking a lovely bath. 
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Feb 3, 2021 23:15
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Yeah I'm in the UK. I posted a picture of a little brown bird, a decent picture tbf, and the group were pretty split on what it was. One guy said it was one thing, another guy said it was something else and asked for more photos. I posted more photos and the first guy came back and said he already told me what it was and that if I wasn't willing to learn maybe bird watching wasn't for me. I dunno. Prolly just that one dude, but it left a bad taste in my mouth.
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Feb 4, 2021 09:38
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Saw a Marsh Harrier today I'm pretty sure. Will check the pics later. Was really exciting. Watched it for about an hour probably. Think that was my fourth bird of prey this year, which is very cool, because before I started actively looking for birds I only ever saw one kind of BoP.
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Feb 4, 2021 17:17
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pointsofdata posted:Wow that's super cool, I'm jealous. I've only seen kites in the UK since I started birding. I love the Kites. When I moved into West London, they were really rare, now they're everywhere. They're really exciting to watch.
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Feb 4, 2021 18:48
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I'm not an expert, but you could easily pick up a second hand DSLR body and off-brand second hand 300mm lens in that budget. in the UK check https://www.mpb.com/en-uk/ and https://www.camerajungle.co.uk/ My second hand sigma 500mm was just £300 and I love it. It's not going to win me any photography awards, but I get some nice stuff out of it. 
Tears In A Vial fucked around with this message at 19:52 on Feb 4, 2021 |
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Feb 4, 2021 19:48
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Pablo Bluth posted:Which sigma 500 goes for £300? I got a second hand Sigma 170-500mm f/5-6.3 APO DG, Canon EF Fit for £310 in January 2018. Is that unusual? I'm not hugely knowledgeable. Edit: It was from MPB.
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Feb 4, 2021 20:26
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Caught a Meadow Pipit in a superhero pose And after checking the pictures, I'm happy with the Marsh Harrier identification yesterday  
Tears In A Vial fucked around with this message at 14:32 on Feb 5, 2021 |
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Feb 5, 2021 12:26
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BeastOfExmoor posted:I'm no expert on European birds (haven't even ever set foot there, sadly), so grain of salt and all, but I'm getting more of a Buteo family vibe off this one. No obvious facial "disk" like Harriers have, wider wings (front to back), and shorter tail are the field marks I'm seeing. Looks like Common Buzzard is the buteo most likely to be seen in the UK in winter so I'd compare with that, especially if you have more photos. Thanks, I'll double check. My partner did compare with the buzzard, but went with the MH in the end There are definitely MHs in the area, so it's not impossible, but we will go back to the photos. Cheers
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Feb 6, 2021 00:07
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We've gone back to the tape and you guys are right. Thanks for the ID! I'll update my list. Little disappointing, but still a new one this year. I'll post some more photos when I get back in I'm in Kent.
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Feb 6, 2021 08:44
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Yeah we were walking through wetland. There is a guy nearby that logs every bird he sees in the area, every day, on his website. I guess we read Marsh Harrier one day, and it stuck in our heads to the point that we jumped to conclusions. Heard hooves, thought zebras, or whatever the saying is
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Feb 6, 2021 19:11
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| # ¿ May 9, 2024 12:27 |
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I use a second hand off-brand 170mm-500mm. It cost £400. It's not perfect, but it works well enough for me.
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Apr 28, 2021 20:48
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