Bad news: six dead raptors found in Ross-shire (BBC, RaptorPersecutionScotland). big moorland fire near Todmorden – probably hordes of Merlin not putting their fags out properly (see last item) Good news: Ospreys back at Loch Garten – veteran female EJ (such a lovely name) arrived back on Monday for the 12th year. Scottish Minister takes…
Tag: Stanwick Lakes
Last day of…
If today is the first day of spring, then yesterday must have been the last day of winter. I spent the evening of the last day of winter giving a talk to my local mid-Nene RSPB group – as a stand-in for a much better speaker, Ian Newton, who had lost his voice. There were…
I was budgetting for Sand Martins
It’s been a slightly odd day. I woke very early (even for me) and so had a little snooze mid-morning, listened to the Budget on the radio and then went for a walk at Stanwick Lakes. As I walked around in the afternoon sunshine I was thinking that, in some ways, I was quite impressed…
Cheltenham preview for Day 4
This is the last day – and the worst day of racing (in my opinion). Yes it has the most prestigious race, the Gold Cup, but the supporting cast of races is a bit uninspiring. This year I’ll be watching the Gold Cup on TV rather than travelling back across the Cotswolds. But, don’t get…
Oscar Dewhurst – Little Egret
Oscar writes: While in France last summer I spent a day at a nature reserve on the Somme Estuary. From one of the hides this Little Egret was fishing. It took a few attempts to get the right timing with the end, but eventually I got there. Nikon D300s, Nikon 600mm f4 AFS-II Mark…
Signs of spring and a scary encounter
I’ve made it out a few times recently but I only got a little bit further than this at Stanwick Lakes the other day before the water was too deep for wellies. It hasn’t felt much like spring to me, but some of the birds seem to believe it is. Great Tits are in full…
It’s wet in my ‘back yard’
It was a bit of a toss-up whether to go out for a walk this morning or not. I’d been up since 5am and got quite a lot of work done – I’d written 700 words on Stanwick Lakes for a book that is being compiled about the Nene Valley so I felt pretty good. …
Those dark eyes
I looked into her dark eyes in a way I never had before – they were so beautiful. Why hadn’t I noticed? Her rounded breast swelled and…she burst into song, because she (or maybe he, but I prefer to think she) was a Robin. It was near the end of one of my regular walks…
First Chiffchaff of 2014 for me
I saw my first Chiffchaff of the year at Stanwick Lakes this morning. And a nice sunny morning it was too. I was walking along a path before the sun had actually risen above the horizon. The Chiffchaff turned up a little later on my walk, in a wet area which seemed to have a…
Hardly started 2014…
Have you seen any birds yet in 2014? Of course you have! That’s one of the best things about birds – they are everywhere and with us all the time. According to the excellent Birdtrack I have seen 62 species so far this year but the true total is somewhere in the low 70s as…