Going to Scotland at the weekend served many purposes: I saw my son, I picked up many cases of whisky (not all mine) which were purchased years ago but have now matured, I escaped the heat of southern England for the relative coolness of central Scotland, I had a brief look at the Strathbraan Raven…
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BBS done for this year.
I completed the second survey for my second BBS square the other day. Very few birds on this visit – amazingly few actually. Even few Carrion Crows and few Wood Pigeons. And yet I added a new species to the site (this was my 14th year of surveys here) – a very topical Raven. Maybe…
BBS and birds generally
I did my two Breeding Bird Survey Square surveys a little while back. Both were carried out on gloriously sunny mornings and both were very enjoyable. There is a smug feeling of being virtuous that one gets from being up early for a purpose, and especially if that purpose is volunteering for the public good,…
No Nightingales
It’s that time of year when I make the pilgrimage to Glapthorn Cow Pasture to listen to Nightingales. I write about this almost every year (2010, 2012, 2103, 2014, 2016) because that visit to a local wood has become a tradition. I’ve been there with my mum and my late father (over 20 years ago),…
My first House Martin
I like House Martins. Yesterday at Stanwick Lakes I was wearing a T-shirt (Hen Harrier Day 2014 if you really want to know), shirt, fleece and my Barbour but I wasn’t warm in the cold NE wind. However, there were 2 Common Sandpipers and my first LRP of the year so it felt as though…
Swallows don’t make a summer at Stanwick Lakes
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Yesterday produced my first Swallow of the year at Stanwick Lakes. Spring is ticking slowly along. This Swallow was a little bit later than my earliest records but well within the range, according to my records from Birdtrack. It still feels as though spring is a bit unsprung to me though. And it certainly felt…
Some firsts
I heard my first Sedge Warbler of the year at Stanwick Lakes yesterday – and it wasn’t my only ‘first’. The weather forecast was a bit rubbish but it wasn’t raining when I made some tea at 0630 and so the aim was to get to Stanwick Lakes before the rain started. I almost didn’t…
My first Willow Warbler – a bit late in coming
I heard my first Willow Warbler of the year at my local patch of Stanwick Lakes this morning. It seems to have been a long time coming since the first Chiffchaff was three weeks ago! I think of my first Willow Warbler as being usually a week to 10 days after the first singing Chiffchaff. …
Birding in the Cotswolds
As well as meeting lots of friends, drinking lots of red wine, eating lots of fantastic food and watching horses running around in circles, I did some birding this week. The drive from near Oxford to the racecourse produced the first transect when Red Kite numbers from the car equalled Buzzards – and the Red…
Speaking at the BTO
I spoke at the BTO HQ in Thetford on Thursday evening – and it was a fun evening. Indeed it was a fun day. There was an audience of 40+ people and we started at 1915 and they didn’t let me go until well after 2145! There were lots of questions, and some of them…