Category: Uncategorized
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Gullible
I agreed to count Blackpool beach for the Wintering Gull Survey. All the Ribble Estuary sites were supposed to be done last Sunday, but it was biblical then so it was moved a week. The title refers to the fact that I didn’t quite appreciate what I’d got myself into. For a couple of reasons. Firstly the…
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Review – The Delightful Horror of Family Birding
When this blog is updated it does feature some book reviews. Although this book was published in 2018 I hadn’t heard of it before seeing it in New York last autumn, so I guess many UK birders may not be familiar with it. As you would expect from someone who extols the virtue of nature professionally…
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Out Skerries – Review Of The 2023 Birding Year
Booted Warbler by Roger Riddington 2022 – Update In last year’s article I said I would update for any late December records, which seemed unlikely. As it turned out there was something else to mention – a flock of Bean Geese found by Kia James alongside the burn in December was the fifth record. Whilst covering…
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Blackpool Social Club
I do a monthly article on local wildlife on the Blackpool Social Club website. In case anyone who reads this blog didn’t know I’ve linked them below whilst being too busy to do much on here. December https://www.blackpoolsocial.club/43205-december-almanac-waxwings-and-starlings/ November https://www.blackpoolsocial.club/42098-november-almanac-bittern-sweet/ October https://www.blackpoolsocial.club/41339-october-almanac-swans-about/ September https://www.blackpoolsocial.club/40269-september-almanac-autumn-avian-migration-on-the-fylde-coast/ August https://www.blackpoolsocial.club/39672-august-almanac-birds-butterflies-and-foxes/ July https://www.blackpoolsocial.club/39164-july-almanac-a-birds-eye-view-on-nature/ June https://www.blackpoolsocial.club/38501-june-almanac-dolphins-and-dragons/ The header picture is from…
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Dolphin daydreaming
Trying to find interesting birds and wildlife can lead to being trigger happy, and jumping to the wrong conclusion. But sometimes the opposite applies, and you can sleepwalk into missing or almost missing something. This blog is about an example of the latter this morning. As I’ve probably said before on here I don’t get…
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Two By Two
Yesterday was a salutary lesson in always being tuned in to the nature around you. I had no space in the diary to go birding but made the best of the walk from the works car park to the office. It was a glorious day so it was surprisingly productive. There were several Robins ticking…
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New York State Of Mind
The Anthem Of The Seas docked at Cape Liberty. The picture above was taken from our cabin after docking. As the light improved there were a few Ring-billed and American Herring Gulls and Double-Crested Cormorants, and a very distant group of 400 birds that zoomed photographs showed to be Brants (aka Brent Geese). Following the…
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A Light Shower Of Birds
I wasn’t expecting a lot from the journey between Nova Scotia and New York. Whilst I was in the final spin class of the cruise there were however lots of birds viewable from my bike. These clearly included a lot of large shearwaters and American Herring Gulls. When I was back on the balcony with…
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The Other Halifax
Greater Yellowlegs When I found out the two days in Bermuda had become one day in Nova Scotia I reached out to the Nova Scotia Bird Club on Facebook. Tony (I never found out his surname) a British expat was very helpful and put me in contact with Dominic Cormier as a local guide who…
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Land Ahoy
To be blunt it was tough going again this morning. I thought I could hear the pipit onboard still, but only saw it (or maybe another) late afternoon to eliminate squeaky door as a possibility. Otherwise four hours of watching produced two Leach’s Petrel together. After some downtime early afternoon Jane and I were walking…
Natural Selection 