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Chris Darby

@chrisddarby.bsky.social
251 followers 121 following 210 posts

Retired marine scientist. Birding mainly Kessingland, Suffolk & Runwell, Essex. chrisdarbyimages.blogspot.com

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Reposted by Chris Darby
Gavin Durrant @gavindurrant1.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
4 shots from a sequence showing a Short eared owl unsuccessfully trying to rob a Barn owl of its prey #ukbirding
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Chris Darby @chrisddarby.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Sea watched The Bridges of Ross, Co. Clare yesterday with a group from @oriolebirding.bsky.social 08:00-15:30 Force 6 W turning Force 5 N Not too shabby! 100+ Leach’s Storm-petrels 2 European Storm-petrels 2 Great Shearwaters 64 Cory’s Shearwaters 300+ Sooty Shearwaters 2000+ Manx Shearwaters
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Chris Darby @chrisddarby.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Lightning over Suffolk yesterday.
Lightning aeroplane leaving vapour trails in the sky
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Chris Darby @chrisddarby.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Red-footed falcon Lowestoft 1/09/2026 A very confiding juvenile has apparently been in the center of the town, sitting on a roof and fence, since at least Friday. #birds #ukbirds #suffolkbirds @suffolkbirdgroup.bsky.social
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Chris Darby @chrisddarby.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Whinchat & Lesser whitethroat Kessingland, Suffolk 29/08/2026 No sign of the wryneck today before the rain stopped play #birds
WhinchatLesser whitethroat
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Chris Darby @chrisddarby.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Purple sandpiper Kessingland sluice 27/08/2026 Also 10 wheatear, redstart and the common warblers moving through. Autumn is coming! #birds
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Reposted by Chris Darby
Gavin Durrant @gavindurrant1.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Kingfisher beats a Three spined Stickleback against the perch so hard it leaves the fish impaled by it's spines. #ukbirding
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Chris Darby @chrisddarby.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Photo-bombed by an airliner while filming the partial eclipse. There were also some nice reflections in the reservoir.
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Chris Darby @chrisddarby.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Yesterday's partial eclipse filmed from Hanningfield, Essex
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Chris Darby @chrisddarby.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Black storks Kessingland 04/08/2026 Species 125 for the garden - well overdue as I have been away for three previous singles. #birds Tracked by the BINS and local WhatsApp groups north along the Suffolk coast and up into Norfolk. @suffolkbirdgroup.bsky.social @lowestoftlizards.bsky.social
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Chris Darby @chrisddarby.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
www.reuters.com/business/aer... #birds
reuters.com
Bird nests of fibre-optic cables show war's impact on Ukraine
Woven from fibre-optic cable and grass, a small ​bird's nest found near the front line of the war in Ukraine shows how the more ‌than four-year-old conflict is reshaping the natural environment, resea...
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Chris Darby @chrisddarby.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
Grey wagtail 25/06/2026 Aira force, Cumbria
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Chris Darby @chrisddarby.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
Venus in conjunction with the new moon 17/06
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Reposted by Chris Darby
Howard Vaughan - blueeyedbirder.com @howardvaughanbeb.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
Not quite sure how to sum up the first full day on the MV Ortelius on our @bwntours.bsky.social Svalbard tour. We got very lucky indeed with two Polar Bear encounters. The second from the zodiac was unexpected and beyond anyone's expectations. We are still lost for words.
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Chris Darby @chrisddarby.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
European badger Essex, UK
European badger, photographed in a reflection pool
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Chris Darby @chrisddarby.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
Gull-billed tern Minsmere RSPB 31/05/2026 Thankfully, at Island Mere it was feeding on dragonflies, not the avocet chicks it was taking on the scrape @rspbminsmere.bsky.social @suffolkbirdgroup.bsky.social #birds #suffolkbirding
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Chris Darby @chrisddarby.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
Gull-billed tern Minsmere RSPB 31/05/2026 Reterned for better views feeding close to Island Mere hide @rspbminsmere.bsky.social @suffolkbirdgroup.bsky.social #birds #suffolkbirding
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Chris Darby @chrisddarby.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
Gull-billed tern Minsmere RSPB 30/05/2026 We were in shock when the fish we thought it was carrying, turned out to be a chick. Identified from the images as an avocet. @rspbminsmere.bsky.social #birds #suffolkbirding @suffolkbirdgroup.bsky.social
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Chris Darby @chrisddarby.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
Red-footed falcon Carlton marshes, Suffolk, 7/5/2026
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Chris Darby @chrisddarby.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
Red-footed falcon Carlton marshes, Suffolk, 7/5/2026 Catching hairy dragonflies.
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Chris Darby @chrisddarby.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
Cream-coloured courser Cape Verde 03/05/2026 #birds
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Chris Darby @chrisddarby.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
Red-footed falcon Carlton marshes, 07/05/2026 With at least 30 hobbies. Best found by the silver on the upper wing showing clearly at distance. #birds
Adult male red-footed falcon Adult male red-footed falcon showing the silver upper-wing
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Chris Darby @chrisddarby.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
Red-billed tropicbird Cape Verde 02/05/2026 Having arrived in Cape Verde to meet the MV Hondius for a seabird passage to Madeira, we were told that the cruise had been cancelled due to a virus outbreak. Our thoughts are with those still on board and those who have lost friends and family. #birds
Red-billed tropic bird soaring the cliffs of Praia, Cape Verde
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Chris Darby @chrisddarby.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
Tawny pipit Landguard, Suffolk, 30/04/2026 Best seen in the morning or late afternoon, when the heat haze decreases. Can show well but usually distant. Definitely worth putting in the time. #birds
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Chris Darby @chrisddarby.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
Tawny Owl Essex, 21/04/2026 Taking a break in the box entrance. She seems to be an expert at taking #birds; catching another jackdaw (4th) last night, as well as a huge rat.
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Chris Darby @chrisddarby.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
Grey wagtail Hanningfield, Essex, 20/04/2026 Relatively quiet WeBS today but the supporting #birds included a new singing nightingale area, cetti's & garden warblers, yellow and grey wagtail, swift, swallow, house and sand martin
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Chris Darby @chrisddarby.bsky.social · 19/04/2026
Tawny owl Essex 16/04/2026 Due to the kids taking over the box, the female is spending as much time outside as the mobbing blackbirds and corvids allow. The feathers are jackdaws, she has caught three so far.
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Chris Darby @chrisddarby.bsky.social · 19/04/2026
"Common" Nightingale Hanningfield, 18/04/2026
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Chris Darby @chrisddarby.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
Nightingale Hanningfield, Essex. 17/04/2026 #birds
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Reposted by Chris Darby
Gavin Durrant @gavindurrant1.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
A few Kingfisher shots from SWT Worlingham marshes last week #ukbirding
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Chris Darby @chrisddarby.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
The tawny owls are feeding and protecting 8 and 9 day old chicks. Stock doves and jackdaws have been inside the box while she has been sitting on the eggs and were chased out. This morning while resting in the entrance she had enough and a jackdaw became a midday meal for the thee of them. #birds
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Chris Darby @chrisddarby.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
A local reed bed and heath morning, followed by a visit to the Brecks, produced the #bird species that a visiting colleague was hoping to see. A sing off between three nightingales, that seem to have came in over-night, and a pair of drumming lesser spots were highlights.
Dartford warblerWood larkMale lesser spotted woodpeckerGoshawks sparring
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Reposted by Chris Darby
James Wright @guntonbirder.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
The irony of the Lowestoft Journal (once a decent paper wayyy back in the day) running a story about a mistakenly mis-id gull with gull pictures with the wrong names in the captions.... And 'thousands' didn't turn up. Nowhere near those numbers! #fakenews www.lowestoftjournal.co.uk/news/2596334...
lowestoftjournal.co.uk
Thousands disappointed after flocking to coast to see ultra-rare bird
Thousands of bird enthusiasts flocked to Lowestoft on the Suffolk coast, hoping to see a rare bird called a great black-headed gull.
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Chris Darby @chrisddarby.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
Red-crested pochard Hanningfield, Essex, 23/03/2026 A very still morning for today's WeBS count.
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Chris Darby @chrisddarby.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
Incubating a clutch of three eggs laid on the 25 & 28/02 and 03/03. Only 2 of 4 fledged last time. If the brood period is the same the hatching should begin around the 25-27th. The male has been bringing a mix of short-tailed vole, wood mouse and brown rat each night. #birds #EssexOwls
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Chris Darby @chrisddarby.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
Hume's warbler and Firecrest Sparrows nest, Lowestoft, 06/03/2026
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Chris Darby @chrisddarby.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
Steller's sea eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus) versus White-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) Pack ice off Rausu, Japan, 14/02/2026 Go #birds!
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Chris Darby @chrisddarby.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
Steller's sea eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus) & White-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) Taken from a boat in the pack ice off Rausu, Japan, 14/02/2026 Go #birds!
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Chris Darby @chrisddarby.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
Steller's sea eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus) & White-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) Taken from a boat in the pack ice off Rausu, Japan, 14/02/2026 A @bwntours.bsky.social tour of Japan led by Dave Farrow @mr-shortwing.bsky.social & Howard Vaughn @howardvaughanbeb.bsky.social #birds
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Chris Darby @chrisddarby.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
Red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis) Tsurui-Ito Tancho Sanctuary, Japan, 13/02/2026 #birds
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Chris Darby @chrisddarby.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
Red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis) Tsurui-Ito Tancho Sanctuary, Japan, 13/02/2026 Taken on a @bwntours.bsky.social tour of Japan led by Dave Farrow @mr-shortwing.bsky.social & Howard Vaughn @howardvaughanbeb.bsky.social
Red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis), Otowa Bridge, Tsurui-mura, Japan @ -18 degrees CRed-crowned crane (Grus japonensis) Tancho - Red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis). Tsurui-Ito Tancho Sanctuary, JapanTancho - Red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis). Tsurui-Ito Tancho Sanctuary, Japan
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Reposted by Chris Darby
Howard Vaughan - blueeyedbirder.com @howardvaughanbeb.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
Day 11 - Winter in #Japan for @bwntours.bsky.social - 15th February 2026 blueeyedbirding.blogspot.com/2026/03/day-... The final day on this extraordinary adventure. @mr-shortwing.bsky.social @chrisddarby.bsky.social @jimwillett.bsky.social #BirdsSeenIn2026
SableBrandt's Jay - Garrulus glandarius brandtiiMarsh Tit - Poecile palustris hensoni
Asian Rosy Finch in the fog
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Reposted by Chris Darby
Howard Vaughan - blueeyedbirder.com @howardvaughanbeb.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
Day 10 - Part 2: Winter in #Japan for @bwntours.bsky.social - 14th February 2026 blueeyedbirding.blogspot.com/2026/03/day-... The Valentine's Day that kept on giving... #BirdsSeenIn2026 @mr-shortwing.bsky.social @chrisddarby.bsky.social @jimwillett.bsky.social
Blakiston's Fish OwlGlaucous Winged GullSikaRed Fox
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Reposted by Chris Darby
Howard Vaughan - blueeyedbirder.com @howardvaughanbeb.bsky.social · 01/03/2026
Day 10 - Part 1: The Eagles: Winter in #Japan for @bwntours.bsky.social - 14th February 2026 blueeyedbirding.blogspot.com/2026/03/day-... I am still lost for words... #BirdsSeenIn2026 @mr-shortwing.bsky.social @chrisddarby.bsky.social @jimwillett.bsky.social
White-tailed EagleSteller's taking out a White-tailed EagleWhite-tailed EagleSteller's Sea Eagle
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Chris Darby @chrisddarby.bsky.social · 01/03/2026
Japanese macaque Jigokudani Snow Monkey Park, Japan, 06/02/2026 Behind the scenes.
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Chris Darby @chrisddarby.bsky.social · 01/03/2026
Japanese macaque Jigokudani Snow Monkey Park, Japan, 06/02/2026
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Chris Darby @chrisddarby.bsky.social · 01/03/2026
Japanese waxwing Honshu, Japan, February 2026 Dispersing mistletoe. #birds
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Chris Darby @chrisddarby.bsky.social · 01/03/2026
Red-crowned cranes Otowa Bridge, Tsurui-mura, Japan 13/02/2026 "It will be cold in the morning, but worth it!" #birds
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Reposted by Chris Darby
Howard Vaughan - blueeyedbirder.com @howardvaughanbeb.bsky.social · 28/02/2026
Day 9 - Winter in #japan for @bwntours.bsky.social - 13th February 2026 blueeyedbirding.blogspot.com/2026/02/day-... Dawn to dusk with Hokkaido's dancing Cranes and fish hunting Owls. @mr-shortwing.bsky.social @chrisddarby.bsky.social @jimwillett.bsky.social #BirdsSeenIn2026
Red-crowned CranesWhite-backed WoodpeckerPelagic CormorantsBlakiston's Fish Owl mid fishing leap
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Howard Vaughan - blueeyedbirder.com @howardvaughanbeb.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
Day 7 - Winter in #japan for @bwntours.bsky.social - 11th February 2026 blueeyedbirding.blogspot.com/2026/02/day-... Cranes, Geese & rare Starlings on the fields of Arasaki & some crab-eating Gulls up the spectacular coast. @mr-shortwing.bsky.social @chrisddarby.bsky.social #BirdsSeenIn2026
Lesser White-fronted Goose and Crane duoJapanese SkylarkRed-billed StarlingsBlack-faced Spoonbill from Korea
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