Three a.m. and nature called. Later life has so many advantages but one or two drawbacks. With the alarm set for 0520 thoughts turned to the ringing session ahead and I knew that sleep would not return. At 0500 I switched the alarm off but took great …
It’s raining – again. An hour of typing then I have to down tools. At 0930 the electricity will be switched off for fifty homes until 1430 for “essential maintenance”. Get accustomed to it folks. When Princess Nut Nuts gets her way with Boris wi…
Still the weather stops me from birding so I’m hitting the memory trail from the warmer, drier days of Lanzarote and January 2015. Remember to click the pics for bigger and better views of Lanzarote, Canary Islands.We drove north and west heading for t…
At last, after delays caused by the coronavirus here on my desk is a brand new bird book I’ve been looking forward to read; The Gull Next Door by Marianne Taylor, a freelance writer, editor, illustrator and photographer specialising in natural history…
Friday morning was another 0600 start. I’d set off in clear conditions with the usual trouble free drive until close to Oakenclough a slight mistiness turned all too quickly into a pea-souper. Andy arrived and as we’d made the effort to rise earl…
Long-time no see my friends. The less said about the October weather and lack of birding days the better. Before today our previous visit to Oakenclough was Friday 16 October, almost three weeks ago. We met up at 0600 this morning, an earlier sta…
Another week of rain and wind goes by with no birding or ringing. We’ve had something like 150% of the expected October rain, but still it comes. With few birders venturing out even WhatsApp news is devoid of bird sightings except for recent day …
There’s little chance of birding or ringing until next week as an Atlantic storm winds its way towards us for the weekend. Friday looked a possibility but Sue and I have to go for our flu jabs at precisely 1012 on Friday morning. Instead and for …
After Thursday morning’s monster movement of thrushes Another Bird Blog, I wondered if Friday might see similar, even though experience says that rarely does lightning strike twice. I arranged to meet Andy at Oakenclough at 0630 where the plantati…
Thursday morning was starlit, dry and clear. To catch migrant birds our mist nets needed to be up and ready at dawn. I met Andy at 0630 at Oakenclough to an easterly wind of 15-18 mph when the forecast had indicated speeds of 5 to 8 mph. Far from ide…