Category: Uncategorized
-
Atlas Visit Summary
I promised to do at Atlas visit Friday and blog about it. I know that getting too detailed about an individual survey visit isn’t great reading, so I’ll stick to headlines. It was a gorgeous day for surveying. Visibility was good enough to see the Lake District and Snowdonia, so Herring Gulls and Feral Pigeons…
-
‘Grotspotting’
I said I would explain the hidden bird habitats of square SD3033 the Pleasure Beach is in. Basically there are a few trees on the eastern side of the amusement park itself, some scrubby trees along the railway cutting and further north the row of conifers in the above photograph. Thousands of people visit the…
-
Britain’s Wackiest BBS Tetrad – Part 1
The national Breeding Bird Survey uses randomly selected 2km x 2km OS map tetrads. A few years ago someone suggested on Twitter they had an out of the ordinary BBS square. I’m not one to brag, but I think I trumped them as for over 20 years I have been doing SD3033. This is SD3033.…
-
Grilled Gulls
Today I had a couple of goes at grilling gulls, at the Waste Transfer Station at lunchtime and on the Wyre Estuary at Skippool this evening. I guess hanging round an active waste disposal site is an acquired taste, but hopefully the above picture shows it was nice on the riverbank. I keep hoping to…
-
Purp and Porps, Terns and Turnstones
I didn’t get out on the Prom as early as I had planned, but it was still the time of day where there are only dog walkers, birders and people who haven’t made it home yet from the night before on the seafront. I love being on the Prom on calm, sunny spring mornings before…
-
More On Peregrines (And Daughters)
In a previous blog I wrote about being at Sabine’s Cambridge graduation ceremony and hearing Peregrines during the proceedings from the cathedral. Ann Taylor kindly pointed out that it wasn’t the cathedral, and indeed they favour the old Emmanuel Church and the spires of King’s College Chapel. But anyway history repeated itself today at Bryony’s…
-
Bedridden Birding
I had flu late Monday and through yesterday, as it got worse I was in bed all day Tuesday. I couldn’t sleep during the night, and when I was finally fit enough to get out and about it was dark again. But it wasn’t a complete loss in terms of appreciating the birds of the…
-
Marinelife Meet
Today’s main nature time was spent at Heysham for a gathering of Marinelife surveyors. Heysham is a familiar venue for Marinelife, as in normal times three routes are used for our work (to Belfast, Dublin and Warrenpoint). Today we were admiring the vessels from afar, hopefully it won’t be too long before we can get…
-
Atlas Advent
Walking down Cheapside, central Blackpool towards the office today I heard a Grey Wagtail ‘chipping’ overhead. It landed on the roof of the clothes shop pictured above, and promptly started singing. By the time I had the phone set it moved out of view, so yes I am offering you a picture of the less…
-
Mammal Morning
I dropped Jane at the gym this morning so headed for Little Singleton as usual on a Wednesday now. The Pinkfeet were still around in numbers, but in amongst the saltmarsh and not easily viewed until something spooked them when I took the shot above. Mammals were the highlight of the visit. A couple of…
Natural Selection 