NWR Any twitchers here?!

In our garden we see Green Woodpeckers and within a 15 min drive we can see Red Kites (which I suppose are common). We have also had deer in our garden twice since moving in in 2018. Badgers common in our neighbourhood too, never seen any in my life until a couple of years ago.

In other news in Q4 last year I saw a Hen Harrier in SW1 which was being controlled by a falconer who had been instructed by the Council to help drive away pigeons. Apparently such raptors strike a primordial fear in pigeons... I also red that the HH is endangered in this country so makes sense that the one I saw was not in the wild.
Graham I’d be amazed if indeed that was a Hen Harrier. Not aware of any captive birds. Most
likely to be a Harris Hawk (not native) for controlling pigeons. Happy to be corrected.
 
Buzzard, Red Kite, Heron, Cormorant all common here. Few interesting small birds.
We saw a wild Polecat in the field last summer which I understand are usually hybrids of the original wild ones and released ferrets and becoming more common
 
Would make a great jigsaw though :)
There is a lady on Virtual Railfan who makes jigsaws from rail scenes on the rail fan site.

What is virtual railfan?



Image result for virtual railfan youtube

But he is probably best known for being one of the founders of Virtual Railfan, a hugely popular streaming site and YouTube channel that allows rail fans to watch trains live from the comfort of their own homes. ...
 
Bit off topic, but I am thinking of updating my binoculars. Mainly for nature viewing but wanted something I could also have to view astronomy (nothing serious, just fun) .

Budget is not great £200 or less, and originally was going for the Nikon 16 x50 action XE, but now more swayed to the 12 x 50 to make it easier to hold.

Any experience or recommendations for alternative products please?
 
Have you tried out both pairs? The 16*50's are actually 5 grams lighter. Not much but they should be no less comfortable to hold while bringing greater magnification, which would be more useful for wildlife and astronomy.
 
I haven’t tried any yet. I would prefer the higher magnification as long as the quality is just as clear. There is only one place nearby that sells binoculars, so will have to see what they stock. Most of my research is online.
 
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