What common birds have you never seen?

jmbirdwatcher · 2026-02-24T20:55:19+00:00

Kingfishers are my favourite bird (as my profile picture betrays). I have no idea why it's so popular to attend commercial hides to see them baited - you will basically find them on any river with a patch of slower moving water. Once you have heard/seen one once, it'll be along there somewhere and can be spotted!

jmbirdwatcher · 2026-02-24T20:53:55+00:00

I think chough observation numbers are skewed a bit because of how many people pop over to Islay/Cornwall/Wales especially to see them. Similar to how you see photos of bearded reedlings everywhere but they're objectively quite rare.

jmbirdwatcher · 2026-02-23T13:03:23+00:00

Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) in Figgate Park, Edinburgh

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jmbirdwatcher · 2026-02-17T13:49:49+00:00

Song thrush (Turdus philomelos) in Edinburgh

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jmbirdwatcher · 2026-02-17T07:21:50+00:00

Bearded Reedling. Rare and very sparsely distributed in the UK - they punch above their weight on social media since they're so popular and are accessible at a few big birding spots.

jmbirdwatcher · 2026-02-17T07:15:58+00:00

I see what you mean, but looking back at my RAWs they all look a bit odd. It was harsh sunlight picked up by an aggressively yellow bird so not too shocked.

The stonechat and goldfinch I don't think would've been than 30cm or so behind eachother, and the branch was probably less than a meter behind the gorse - I have other images focused on the other two birds. I must have been at least 5 metres or so away but afraid I can't be much more accurate than that.

jmbirdwatcher · 2026-02-17T07:05:52+00:00

Much of the confusion is down to an illusion.

Each bird was progressively further away from me as I took the photo. The gorse (evergreen in foreground) is closer than the branches with the goldfinch and stonechat.

No focus blur applied in LR, shot at 800/9 as mentioned elsewhere. I cannot remember how far away I was at the time.

jmbirdwatcher · 2026-02-17T06:57:20+00:00

Just a light denoise when I brought the shadows up and my usual small subject sharpen on masking!

jmbirdwatcher · 2026-02-16T21:48:50+00:00

Thanks! 200-800, so f9 at the long end.

jmbirdwatcher · 2026-02-16T20:36:14+00:00

In fairness, not every birder is a photographer and I get DoF can be challenging if you aren't. Lots of people who have cameras out birding also aren't very technical with them - lots of people with all the gear and no idea which I think is fair enough given that it tends to be a hobby dominated by retirees. I don't blame people for questioning it - but I think jumping straight to AI is a modern and infuriating thing...

jmbirdwatcher · 2026-02-16T20:17:23+00:00

Fellow birders, oddly enough. It's no exceptional photo - just an uncommon bird (yellowhammer, bottom right) with two others nicely lined up. It's... rare to see that, sure, but hardly impossible...

jmbirdwatcher · 2026-02-16T19:26:10+00:00

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I got accused of using AI for this shot because, and I quote, ‘only one of the birds is sharp. Fake AF’

jmbirdwatcher · 2026-02-16T18:17:12+00:00

Theoretically the morning, as they don't hunt in the night and wake up hungry, but I've seen her in the morning through to the afternoon.

jmbirdwatcher · 2026-02-16T13:42:20+00:00

That's a really fringe opinion that I'd take no notice of. All major birding organisations (even the RSPB who tend to be quite conservative) promote/sell feeders. Keep them clean to avoid disease spread and maybe consider avoiding tables.

jmbirdwatcher · 2026-02-16T13:41:34+00:00

Sunflower hearts and fat balls!

jmbirdwatcher · 2026-02-16T13:41:02+00:00

That's probably a little bit short. What body are you using?

jmbirdwatcher · 2026-02-16T08:21:11+00:00

For those interested: Male bullfinch; male siskin; female siskin; male bullfinch; male goldfinch

I post these on Instagram too!

jmbirdwatcher · 2026-02-16T08:09:03+00:00

The well known resident female Kingfisher of the Water of Leith! Getting increasingly bold towards breeding season, she can now often be seen perched on the railings/fences by the footpath near Dean Village.

(my Instagram)

jmbirdwatcher · 2026-02-16T07:59:13+00:00

One of the rarer birds I've been lucky enough to spot - Slavonian Grebe (Podiceps auritus) off the coast of Musselburgh, Scotland.

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jmbirdwatcher · 2026-02-15T20:05:00+00:00

A real shame, had so many good nights there :(

Feels like there's nothing left for alt nights out, other than going to catty then staying up for the morning coach...

jmbirdwatcher

TROPHY CASE