53 : Zebra Dove

Zebra Dove - Geopelia Striata

I scattered some breadcrums to haul in a few life ticks at our hotel in Mauritius in July 2010. We had a wonderful couple of weeks at the Sugar Beach club. I have to say that these are perhaps the handsomest little doves I have yet seen. I love the soft buffy greys and the rose pink breast. Also called a "Barred Ground Dove". Its obvious where the Zebra name comes from. Its hard to get an idea of size but from memory one of these birds would happily sit in your hand.

They are not native to Mauritius but like many birds there introduced to those islands. You can't get upset with a few of these on your terrace.

Zebra Dove - Geopelia Striata

Mauritius, Sugar Beach Club

July 2010 

52 : Yellow-billed Babbler

Yellow-billed Babbler - Turdoides affinis

A noisy sociable thrush that frequented the understory across Sri Lanka. I hope these birds eat leaches. These horrible things would come out and attach themselves to your ankles when it rained. They really freaked the kids out after walks - the screams could be heard across the valley. We ended up walking wit little bags of salt or an indian lime in our pocket to make them fall off. Truly disgusting creatures.

I used watch one of these birds making its way through the leaf litter each morning tossing aside debris in its search for goodies - all the world like a Song Thrush back home. There are clearly "niches" for birds but I wonder why a super thrush couldn't dominate the world ? Tiny differences in food, fauna, other competitive pressures non-existant elsewhere ?

A fairly plain bird but on our side in the war against leaches !

Yelow-billed Babbler - Turdoides affinis
Sri Lanka, Ellerton Lodge near Kandy
April 2011

51 : Indian Pond Heron

Indian Pond Heron - Ardeola grayii

A common bird throughout South Asia. These two birds were photographed at the river at the bottom of my jungle walk in Sri Lanka. They look like the asian version of a Squacco Heron to me. Herons have the advantage that they are easily photographed !

The family are all back after the long Summer and routine is here so I am looking foward to getting into a routine with my blog pages and catching up the bird a day !

Indian Pond Heron - Ardeola grayii
Hills near Kandy, Sri Lanka
April 2011

50 : Black-rumped Flameback

Black-rumped Flameback - Dinopium benghalense

Not the best picture again I know ! I was very excited to see these noisy woodpeckers hacking away at the palm bark in search of big grubs. I watched a film about the lost ivory backs recently and these reminded me of a miniature version.

Sri Lanka, Hills near Kandy
April 2011

49 : White Rumped Munia

White Rumped Munia - Loncura striata

I think Munias are a type of finch and elsewhere I have posted on a Spice Finch which is also known as a Scaly Breasted Munia. The huge bill makes them look to me a bit like Bullfinches or Hawfinches back home. They cleary like bigger seeds. As far as little tracks go that track down from Ellertons lodge to the river in teh valley below must have thrown up 30 or more life ticks. You can addicted to flying to new countries just to go for a stroll !

White Rumped Munia
Hills near Kandy, Sri Lanka
April 2011

48 : Little Cormorant

Little Cormorant - Phalacrocorax niger

Cormorants are pretty unloved birds. They "steal" fish from man, tend to smell in large numbers and are not that attractive. They give a good indication of the health of a river or lake though in terms of its fish population so we should be grateful. In the UK cormorants are the bane of fish farmers and angling clubs. Guns get involved.

I had not heard of this species of cormorant before I saw it in Sri Lanka near to Kandy. I took this picture of a Little Cormorant drying its wings at the end of a short morning's walk down to a river near our lodge. I thought it was a smart little bird - identified from the photo by its shorter conical bill and smaller size. These birds frequent the upland wet zone rivers apparently - A jungle cormorant ! What's not to like about that.

Indian Cormorant - Phalacrocorax niger
April 2011
Hills near kandy, Sri Lanka

47 : Bar-winged Flycatcher Shrike (Pied flycatcher-shrike)

Bar-winged Flycatcher Shrike (Pied flycatcher-shrike) - Hemipus picatus

I am scraping the bottom of the barrel for decent images from Sri Lanka now (any decent images !) but this bird was seen from a restaurant on the way to Yala from the high tea country. This is the Sri Lankan endemic race "leggei". It is found throughout the island in any good stand of forest and prefers the canopy. I was lucky here because I was on the side of a steep hill and at canopy level.

It reminds me of a slim version of a pied flycatcher from home. Smart bird - an exciting bird.

Bar-winged Flycatcher Shrike (Pied flycatcher-shrike)
Hemipus picatus
Somewhere on the way to Yala from the tea country ! Sri lanka
April 2011

46 : Eurasian Oystercatcher

Eurasian Osytercatcher - Haemotopodidae ostralegus

Another long shot on the Orwell to complete today's brace of catch up pictures. These are another classic of the British seaside and an all year round resident. I was suprised when staying in the North Yorkshire moors while supporting a friend running for Parliament to discover that they bread inland and up on the hills. I don't know why I was suprised as plenty of other wading birds perform the same trick - Dunlin and Golden Plover for example. I just thought they spent their life crunching molluscs which can't be in big supply on a hill top. Perhaps they eat snails or slugs when they are oop North ? Same idea with a different shell or without one. Perhaps they'd make a grand garden pet if you grow vegetables.

So my question today is what do Oystercatchers eat when they are breeding inland on a Yorkshire Moor ? What followers of this blog that existed will have given up on me over the Summer so I doubt I will get an answer.

Good news on the world birding front - I have a busines trip to the USA (both coasts) booked for about 8 weeks time. Palo Alto, Chicago, Washington and New York with a free weekend in Washington. If I get my camera sorted and do some research I may be able to pick up a bog hall of 'photo-ticks'. Watch this space. I suspect I will be on the Chesapeake rather than in the Smithsonian if I get my way !

Eurasian Oystercatcher - Haemotopodidae Ostralegus
Orwell estuary - Suffolk
August 29 2011

45 : Black-tailed Godwit

Black-tailed Godwit - Limosa limosa

I have been remiss. I have hung up my fingertips for the Summer and now find myself with a huge deficit of 70 or so birds. I have many excuses the biggest of which was the removal of the camera by my wife ! After a while the size of the deficit prays on your mind and it gets even harder to start again. I am determined however that when I get back to Dubai after the Summer break I will blog at a rate of 2 birds or more a day until I am all caught up.

So without further excuses I give you a long shot of some Black-tailed Godwits with the remains of Summer plumage. This was taken with a walk with the children on the Orwell in Suffolk last week. Its September and across the globe migration is in full swing. These birds have arrived back in their Winter quarters or are still on their way further South. They will have been North in the Spring probably to Iceland. A few Godwits breed in the UK on the lower reaches of the wash but most go to Iceland and the Nearctic.

How do you tell these apart from the other UK Godwit - the Bar-tailed Godwit. Bar tailed have a slightly upturned beak with a thicker base - Black-tailed are a 'finer' bird in bill and overall appearance - longer legged. Black-tailed of course have a think black band in the tail but that's only really visible in flight so not much use.  Stood in water you can't really tell on leg length so its the bills. I saw a Greenshank yesterday at Minsmere and I think Bar-tailed has a bill that's more like a greenshank if that makes sense. It is heftier at the base. I am sure there are better diagnostic tools to use but it just comes down to looking at a few dozen dozen over a number of years until you feel comfortable to call them. Which I never am !

I spent yesterday at Minsmere without a camera kicking myself - Bitterns, Marsh Harrier, Whinchat, Bearded Tit, a lovely treecreeper a few yards away - Agh !!! Camera and lense time. Repeat after me - I will invest in a camera and long lense and glue it to my hand.

Black Tailed Godwit - Limosa limosa
Orwell estuary
August 29 2011