Jonathan Farooqi
25 year old birder & naturalist. Northumbrian now living on the edge of the Norfolk Broads. Ornithologist and bird tour leader. UEA graduate.
- Back at Sheringham for more excellent views of the Eastern Black Redstart for @oriolebirding.bsky.social winter tour. Plus a textbook 2cy Caspian Gull on the beach there. #NorfolkBirding #UKBirding
- A super afternoon at Cantley Marshes where we counted a minimum of 727 Russian White-fronted Geese - by far the most I’ve ever seen in the UK! #NorfolkBirding #UKBirding
- A few more highlights from our @oriolebirding.bsky.social Norfolk Winter Tour last week. A great spell of winter birding! #UKBirding #NorfolkBirding #LincsBirding
- Great first day of our @oriolebirding.bsky.social Norfolk winter tour with the Sheringham Eastern Black Redstart and North Point Taiga Bean Goose being standout highlights. Plus Hen Harriers, Caspian Gull and thousands of geese! #UKBirding #NorfolkBirding
- Glaucous Gull at QEII yesterday and Green-winged Teal, Russian White-fronts and a pair of Smew at Druridge Pools the highlights of 87 species around some of my old haunts in Northumbs the last couple of days. #NEBirding #UKBirding
- Time for my annual collage looking back over the last 12 months. Wouldn’t say it was a classic in terms of British birding for me but still some great birds and moments! Cheers to everyone who was a part of it and happy new year!
- Nice scope views of the drake American Wigeon at Milkhope today. Very cool to hear it calling too! #NEBirding #UKBirding
- A few shots of a particularly showy Water Pipit at Cley Marshes last weekend. #NorfolkBirding #UKBirding
- Incredible views of Long-eared Owl at Warham Greens this evening (this pic phonescoped). Made for a great end to the day with Yellow-browed Warblers, Firecrest and Glossy Ibis nearby too. #UKBirding #NorfolkBirding
- Stuff of dreams on Shetland today with great views of the Siberian Thrush at Asta. What a bird for our @oriolebirding.bsky.social group to catch up with. Check out that undertail! #UKBirding #ShetlandBirding
- It’s been a good start to our @oriolebirding.bsky.social Shetland tour as a stop at Musselburgh on the way up to Aberdeen produced the long-staying Marsh Sandpiper, White-winged Scoter, Surf Scoter and plenty more! #UKBirding
- I don’t usually post photos from the moth trap but this one has to be worth a mention. @midyaredan.bsky.social and I trapped Norfolk’s 1st Shining Marbled in Strumpshaw village last night. Other highlights included Lunar Yellow Underwing & 2 Four-spotted Footman. #teammoth @migrantmothuk.bsky.social
- The Black-winged Kite eventually showed really nicely at Hickling this afternoon. Much better perched views than a couple of years ago. What a beauty! #UKBirding #NorfolkBirding
- It’s been a good few weeks for waders in the Mid Yare Valley especially at Buckenham Marshes. At least 3 Spotted Redshanks, 6 Wood Sandpipers & a Little Stint have made an appearance along with many Ruff, Black-tailed Godwits, Green Sandpipers and Little Ringed Plovers. #UKBirding #NorfolkBirding
- A 1cy limosa Black-tailed Godwit from Cley Marshes on the 15th. Clearly a lot more advanced on the upperparts than the many surrounding islandica godwits. #UKBirding #NorfolkBirding
- A few gull images from recent forays down to Suffolk. Enjoyed getting such good views of a variety of 1cy birds. Details in ALT text. #UKBirding #SuffolkBirding
- One of at least three Clouded Yellow at Hickling Broad NWT in recent days. Only my second in Norfolk after one there a couple of months ago. A Whinchat was a nice bonus on Thursday too. #UKBirding #NorfolkBirding #UKButterflies
- Made my way to Walberswick yesterday where the Zitting Cisticola was a great bit of early August excitement. We had some good flight views but pics were difficult! A smart 1cy Caspian Gull at the quay was much more obliging. #UKBirding #SuffolkBirding
- limosa Black-tailed Godwits were up to two at Buckenham Marshes this afternoon with a much larger juvenile joining the original bird on Hide Pool. Hopefully a sign they’ve had a good breeding season! #NorfolkBirding #UKBirding
- The first juvenile limosa Black-tailed Godwit of the year is always a highlight of midsummer in Norfolk. This one at Buckenham Marshes this afternoon was my first on the patch though. #UKBirding #NorfolkBirding
- Some highlights from a very productive visit to Foxley Woods at the end of last month; Purple Emperor, Silver-washed Fritillary (including form valezina) and White Admiral.
- We did well for eastern warblers on the @oriolebirding.bsky.social Estonia tour earlier in the month with many giving excellent views. Greenish, Booted, Blyth's Reed and Icterine Warblers pictured here. #BirdingEstonia
- I'd only seen autumn Barred Warblers until two weeks ago so I was really hoping we'd catch up with some adult males on our @oriolebirding.bsky.social Estonia tour. They certainly didn't disappoint! #BirdingEstonia
- I had three lifers on last week's @oriolebirding.bsky.social Estonia tour with the first being superb views of this Lesser Spotted Eagle low overhead on our second day.
- Found time to start editing pics from leading @oriolebirding.bsky.social Estonia summer tour with @birdinghaapsalu.bsky.social last week. A standout highlight was this Ural Owl which showed really well in the twilight one evening. #BirdingEstonia
- It's fair to say a walk around Strumpshaw Fen looking for moths with @midyaredan.bsky.social was more exciting than expected! This 2cy Pallid Harrier circled us briefly before crossing the river and heading high west mid-afternoon. What a bird to see on patch! #UKBirding #NorfolkBirding
- Hudsonian Godwit was one of my most wanted birds in Britain so it was amazing to get such good views of the female at Titchfield Haven this morning! Those underwings are a sight to behold! #UKBirding
- Probably my favourite birding on Lesvos was a morning at Ipsilou Monastery. An arrival of migrants included many Golden Orioles, flycatchers, Wood Warblers & a Common Rock Thrush. And the usual great birds incl Cinereous Bunting, Sombre Tit, Western Rock Nuthatch, wheatears etc.
- The third afternoon of our Lesvos trip was spent back at Kalloni Salt Pans and the Tsiknias River. An Isabelline/Turkestan Shrike (possibly the former) was great to watch & there was no shortage of waders. Later, both Baillon's & Little Crakes were showing by the river ford at dusk.
- A superb evening for waders on patch at Buckenham Marshes with @midyaredan.bsky.social. No less than 18 Wood Sandpipers but also Spotted Redshank, Bar & Black-tailed Godwits, 10 Greenshank, Dunlin, LRP and a mighty 31 Common Sandpipers! #UKBirding #NorfolkBirding
- Our 3rd day on Lesvos started at Metochi Lake where a minimum of 7 Little Crakes performed well plus Spotted Crake, Squacco Herons & Little Bitterns. Nearby we saw our first Eastern Orphean Warblers & Western Rock Nuthatches of the trip among many other great birds!
- Couldn't resist a look at the Carlton Marshes Red-footed Falcons yesterday evening. And it was so worth it with stunning views of five birds perched in the trees (three males and two females) #UKBirding
- Day 2 on Lesvos (21st) began with a visit to the Tsiknias River and highlights including a showy male Citrine Wagtail, Pygmy Cormorant and Black Storks. An evening at the Kalloni Salt Pans produced many waders, a flock of Gull-billed Terns & a Quail which showed itself while singing!
- Just back from a great week of birding on Lesvos. Our first afternoon (20th April) produced brief views of a female Rüppell's Warbler, Eleonora's Falcon, our first Black Storks and Short-toed Eagles of the trip and a lifer in the form of this Dalmatian Pelican at Kalloni Salt Pans.
- Steller's Eiders on Saaremaa Island, Estonia on 9 March. We had very good scope views at two sites and a total of 87 birds overall. @oriolebirding.bsky.social
- A few more highlights from Estonia earlier in the month. @oriolebirding.bsky.social
- Another superb owl encounter from our @oriolebirding.bsky.social Estonia tour was this Eurasian Pygmy Owl just overhead.
- We had great views of seven species of woodpecker on last week's @oriolebirding.bsky.social Estonia tour: Eurasian Three-toed, White-backed, Middle Spotted, Lesser Spotted, Great Spotted, Black and Grey-headed.
- Just back from leading @oriolebirding.bsky.social Estonia tour with @birdinghaapsalu.bsky.social. An awesome trip with lots of great birds. Very hard to pick a favourite but stunning views of this Northern Hawk Owl has to be up there. Made even more satisfying by the 4 attempts it took us to see it!
- After a relatively quiet day of birding in east Norfolk yesterday it was a nice surprise to call in at Martham and find the group of Tundra Bean Geese had increased to seven. Hopefully a sign of some wildfowl arriving from the continent. #UKBirding #NorfolkBirding
- Had a really nice time watching Fenham Flats from Guile Point this afternoon. As well as the thousands of waders, ducks and geese, highlights included 11 Slavonian Grebes, 20+ Long-tailed Ducks, GN Diver, Scaup, Merlin and this smart drake Pintail x Mallard hybrid! #UKBirding #NEBirding
- Some of my British birding and wildlife highlights from 2024. Not a vintage year in my opinion but some great moments and people. Happy new year! #UKBirding
- Great to be on the old patch this morning. Druridge Pools was excellent with the Grey-headed Lapwing making an appearance, a surprise 2cy Glaucous Gull, 2 BT Divers, 6+ Velvet Scoter & a Slavonian Grebe offshore. A male Hen Harrier was at Widdrington Moor Lake too. #UKBirding #NEBirding
- A few local highlights since I last posted on here. It’s not been a classic autumn for me by any means but a few decent birds to be found. #UKBirding #Norfolkbirding
