I know I won’t get any sympathy for this, but I feel I am missing out on the true spring experience this year. I’ve just spent two weeks in Spain and got back to the UK on Tuesday evening. Before I left I had seen or heard Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Willow Warbler and Sand Martin at…
Tag: Stanwick Lakes
Flying noses
I am a birder, but I have got used to looking for signs of spring other than the arrival of warblers and hirundines, Wheatears and Garganey, Sandwich Terns and Ring Ousels. On Sunday morning, Willow Warblers and Blackcaps were adding their songs to those of many Chiffchaffs at my local patch of Stanwick Lakes. I…
Sunday book review – Birds of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East: a photographic guide by Frederic Jiguet and Aurelien Audevard
This is a photographic field guide which covers all European bird species including vagrants and some species which have not yet occurred but are quite likely to do so eventually. In one slimmish volume the reader has images (over 2200 of them) of every species of bird (860) they might see on the continent….
A round up
A few things that caught my eye: my first Sand Martins of the year were at Stanwick Lakes on Wednesday morning – it was a cold morning and I bet they wished they were back in Senegal the weather looks good for the weekend, especially Saturday, across much of the UK – butterflies, migrant birds…
Delivery by DPD
Sometimes there are interesting things on one’s doorstep. I was taking a stroll to the postbox the other day when a flock of c25 Pied Wagtails flew over calling. It was nearly dusk and so I assumed that they were heading off to roost somewhere. I spent some time in the autumn searching unsuccessfully…
Housing near to home
The Planning White Paper came out last week. I understand that planning is very important, and even that it can be quite interesting, but I’ve managed to swerve knowing much about it for decades and that is still my aim. So, I’ll leave comments to others better informed. But I keep hearing that we…
You don’t have to be an expert.
I am firmly of the opinion (which doesn’t mean that it is correct of course) that vast numbers of British people are really quite knowledgeable about birds, and that even more of them are thrilled by them. In Remarkable Birds I suggest that ‘almost every human who has ever lived has probably seen or heard…
Dull day – or maybe not
There are (or were in 2014) more Bearded Tits in the UK than there have been since records began – more than 770 pairs. That’s quite a success story and a lot of these birds nest on nature reserves. Yesterday I strolled down to my local patch of Stanwick Lakes on a dull grey day….
How’s your day so far?
My day so far (before 0830): sent thank you emails to 30+ people who have written to their MP about driven grouse shooting went out to Stanwick Lakes and saw the Turnstone that has been there for a few days had breakfast, two slices of toast and marmite, in the garden saw a Holly Blue…