Birds: The Unusual Suspects (2020)
Birding outside my local area frequently brings pleasant surprises, especially at the coast.
Here's a collection of the slightly more unusual birds I've spotted while out and about. In the interest of brevity, these are just the interesting characters I encountered during 2020.
The joys of the 2020 Greater Manchester lockdowns meant fairly limited travel, although we managed to visit the Lake District and Scotland in the summer. Moreover, my novice bird spotting and photography abilities contributed to relatively meagre offerings compared to 2021.
Once lockdown restrictions allowed driving to go for a walk, I expanded my range from Stockport to the beautiful Goyt Valley. Here I saw my first kingfisher but it's a speedy and elusive chap, no chance of a snap!
Along with the kingfisher, I spotted a rather ruffled grey wagtail. I've seen them a few times near rivers but in my experience, they are relatively rare compared to their more common pied wagtail cousins.
This female 'blackcap' actually has a chestnut-coloured head. I have spotted males a few times since but never quite managed to get a shot as clear as this.
Spotting my first woodpecker was a real treat. Hard to miss the flash of black, white and red in your peripheral vision!
The camera on auto-focus is not really up to the task of capturing birds in flight. Occasionally they come out alright, but it takes some patience!
OK so chaffinches are pretty common garden birds, but never in a garden that I've lived in, so unusual for me!
Loved this curlew and haven't seen one since. That curved bill will become a regular sighting for me soon in the form of the infamous Aussie Bin Chickens.
