10,000 Birds

MARCH 29, 2024

Here in the Brecks – an area of poor, sandy soils on the borders of Norfolk and Suffolk – we have a small but important breeding population. They favour the old heaths, but a number of pairs also breed on farmland. Brettenham Heath National Nature Reserve holds the highest density of nesting Curlews in the Brecks.

Fox 182

Fox Badgers Finland Eggs 182

10,000 Birds

MARCH 1, 2024

Then it’s a matter of doing a little research on the internet to find who rang the bird you saw, and then emailing the details of your sighting. Black-tailed godwits winter in large numbers on the estuaries of both Norfolk and Suffolk, and we know that nearly all these birds breed in Iceland. Did it then move on to Ireland?

Lithuania 130

Lithuania Morocco Iceland Ireland 130

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 31, 2012

Tommy Thompson Park Bird Research Station in Toronto had an extremely rare and beautiful Townsend’s Warbler x Black-throated Gray Warbler which was banded in April. Graham Clarke liked Dotterel , a bird he needed for Ireland. Dotterel are not exceptionally rare in Ireland occurring during both spring and autumn migration.

2012 133

2012 Ghana Ireland Birds 133

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2024

Secondly, much of the appeal is that this is a bird we don’t see in the UK very often, for Waxwings are an irruptive species, and in most years only a few ever reach our shores from their breeding grounds in the boreal forests of Scandinavia. I’ve managed to see them, too, on their breeding grounds in Finland in summer.

Finland 196

Finland Estonia Bears Ireland 196

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2023

I am not sure about the security situation in Iraq these days but at least some people do ornithological research there – resulting in papers such as one titled “Breeding observations of the Black-winged Kite Elanus caeruleus (Desfontaines , 1789) in Iraq” Impressive. Like this bird family b.

Birds 130

Birds Iraq China Ireland 130

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 31, 2020

But seeing as the month is also bookended by Hogmanay and Burns Night, we’ll gladly take the opportunity to visit– in spirits, at least – the rugged Celtic landscapes of Scotland and Ireland where whisky was born and – with luck – have a look at the birds that inhabit them.

Geese 153

Geese Ireland Branding 2016 153