tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-824385241230348874.post6725109728476958210..comments2024-03-28T09:35:52.616+00:00Comments on Not Quite Scilly: The Great FallGavin Haighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17242398421328525578noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-824385241230348874.post-14583344418410124502023-02-22T11:45:29.478+00:002023-02-22T11:45:29.478+00:00Wow, yes, a lot of changes in 30 years! I had a qu...Wow, yes, a lot of changes in 30 years! I had a quiet spell in the '90s, and on into the early noughties. Moved from London area to East Devon in December 2002, where multiple Little Egrets an everyday sight. That was a surprise. But nothing compared to the Med Gull explosion!Gavin Haighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17242398421328525578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-824385241230348874.post-75091293486491367132023-02-22T11:38:02.320+00:002023-02-22T11:38:02.320+00:00Yep, it's as if many have blinkers on.Yep, it's as if many have blinkers on.Gavin Haighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17242398421328525578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-824385241230348874.post-91307567419793729082023-02-19T22:29:32.670+00:002023-02-19T22:29:32.670+00:00I’ve been out of birding for the best part of 30 y...I’ve been out of birding for the best part of 30 years (new wife, kids, new job etc) and have been amazed at the changes in populations on my return. Apart from generally a lot less birds, Dorset now has large populations of birds that were pretty scarce in the 90’s, with big populations that I had only seen a couple of at the time (Med Gulls at Portland Harbour was a bit of a shock!).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-824385241230348874.post-8420054871007199972023-02-09T09:10:19.753+00:002023-02-09T09:10:19.753+00:00The UK was short of native birds around that time ...The UK was short of native birds around that time due to the '63 winter so, such an influx must have seemed almost biblical. But the world is going through a crisis, anyone with a memory and decent observational skills can see it. Convincing the ruling types is the biggest problem of all.Dave Burrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08259482046178828401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-824385241230348874.post-78670037553655522292023-02-08T22:48:14.079+00:002023-02-08T22:48:14.079+00:00A single Greenish at Bamburgh on 4th is the only o...A single Greenish at Bamburgh on 4th is the only one mentioned, I think.<br /><br />Although the sheer numbers in '65 were unprecedented, it is interesting to note from the BB paper that big 'drift falls' were apparently quite common in postwar years. Even in the very early '80s I can recall one or two N Norfolk visits with lots of common migrants. Nowadays I am quite excited to see one Redstart! Something pretty awful has happened. Gavin Haighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17242398421328525578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-824385241230348874.post-14949792368250127352023-02-08T22:21:19.529+00:002023-02-08T22:21:19.529+00:00Reckon I probably first learned of it from the sam...Reckon I probably first learned of it from the same source, Ric. And yes, shifting baseline syndrome has probably led to many birders being delighted with a handful of Redstarts in an autumn, instead of horrified...Gavin Haighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17242398421328525578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-824385241230348874.post-15868776436433299042023-02-08T16:08:09.195+00:002023-02-08T16:08:09.195+00:00Truly epic, Ive read that BB account and DimWallac...Truly epic, Ive read that BB account and DimWallace's account before. I am very familiar with that exact stretch of coast line, at that time of year, and I have not had a sniff anything more than an odd Redstart or Wheatear. Its amazing that in that lot there were no Greenish Warblers. Over the last 30 years on our coast numbers are a shadow of what they were. Days with 50 Pied Flys on Holy Island are gone, yet each year we still hope, like Grey Friars Bobby guarding his masters grave in the forlorn hope he will return. ...<br /> Stewarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01985665182124985194noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-824385241230348874.post-35752673606177474312023-02-07T23:16:04.671+00:002023-02-07T23:16:04.671+00:00Gav, I first read about this event in Eric Hosking...Gav, I first read about this event in Eric Hosking's 'An Eye for a Bird'. A mere eight years after it happened. That sense of diminishing returns is a factor I find quite unsettling. Ricnoreply@blogger.com